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Scott Beyer

Columnist

Scott Beyer is a journalist who focuses on American urban issues. He owns a media company called Market Urbanism Report, which advocates for free-market urban policy. In addition to his work for Governing, Beyer writes regular columns for Forbes, the Independent Institute and Tax Credit Advisor.


Beyer recently completed a three-year cross-country tour to study U.S. urban issues and is working on a book about his findings. He is based in New York City, and his work can be found collectively at MarketUrbanismReport.com.

He can be reached at scott@marketurbanismreport.com.

It deals with very different urban issues than the West. Its population is exploding, with all 20 of the world’s fastest-growing cities based in Africa or Asia. I’m taking a long trip through the region to find out more.
Blockchain technology is starting to revamp corporate governance. There are those who believe it could revamp local government as well.
The street vendors who sell food to downtown customers are a boon to urban life. Cities ought to have more of them.
Urban residents know about the housing-related problems that hurt their city, from overcrowding to redlining. What if they had a visual display of where things are worst?
Private geographic information companies, rich with useful data, have transportation solutions that governments need to start using.
We used to allow homeowners to operate commercial businesses on their property. By and large, it worked. We can do it again. Say hello to “accessory commercial units.”
Burying utility lines can be prohibitively expensive, and it is far from foolproof. There are other ways to accomplish the same goal, including the use of drones and smart grids.
With electronic storage readily available, including blockchain technology, there’s no excuse for keeping valuable property documents on paper.
When cities reject new projects because they don’t fit an ideal notion of “affordability,” they further worsen the housing shortage.
Cities spend millions to raze vacant buildings. Why not use that money to repair them instead?