Scott Beyer is a Catalyst Columnist Fellow on a 1.5-year research project through the Global South for Catalyst’s Market Urbanism Around the World series. He is the owner of Market Urbanism Report, a media company that advances free-market city policy. He is also an urban affairs journalist who writes regular columns for Forbes, Governing Magazine, HousingOnline.com, and Catalyst.
America’s economy is by far the world’s biggest. With a projected 2025 GDP of over $30 trillion, we have been better at bringing prosperity to large groups of people than any nation in history. We’re also the most indebted. In absolute terms, the U.S. owes more money than any other nation, and was recently downgraded...
By Scott Beyer
Big-box stores have long been an integral part of U.S. suburban life, offering better deals and selection. But they’re less common in cities. There is still no Walmart in New York, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco or Seattle. In the 2010s, Walmart experimented with a smaller-scale model targeted at urban neighborhoods, but the results have been...
By Scott Beyer
Housing construction in America often occurs in subdivisions. Whether located in urban infill contexts or suburban greenfields (more often the case), these are standalone private developments with their own internal infrastructure. Seldom do they have real autonomy, though. They’re still subject to single-family zoning and other land-use regulations, which make many such communities exclusive. And...
By Scott Beyer