170,000 New Homes for Sydney – March 20, 2013
The largest release of housing lots in 20 years will bring home ownership within reach for thousands of young families, the state government says. Up to 171,000 new homes will be built across 31 new and existing suburbs, alongside land for new jobs, shops, schools and transport.

University of Regina Economist says Rent Control Policies Bad Idea – March 19, 2013
A Regina economist is cautioning that recent calls for rent control legislation is not the best way to deal with the availability of affordable rental units.

Report Calling Sask. Unaffordable Got it All Wrong – February 14, 2013
Frontier Senior Fellow Wendell Cox explains how the article "Report Calling Sask. Unaffordable Got it All Wrong" from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix confuses statistics to reach a mistaken conclusion.

The Poverty of Nations – March 21, 2012
The main claim of "Why Nations Fail" is twofold. First, differences in institutions—not geography or culture—are the key explanation for differences in wealth around the globe. Second, those differences are often a result of historical accidents, such as the different colonization strategies adopted in different regions of the Americas.

Rents Hit the Roof – December 14, 2011
Winnipeg's reputation as an affordable place to live is taking a beating, two newcomers from Eastern Canada say.

Vancouver Home Prices Poised for Correction, Could Fall 21 per cent: Report – June 15, 2011
Homes in Vancouver have become so expensive you might have to win the lottery to afford one, says a prominent economist — and with prices that sky-high, odds are the city is ripe for a big drop.

Toronto’s Backward on Public Housing: Get ’em Out, Not In – March 11, 2011
Toronto Community Housing Corp. is one of the world’s biggest landlords. As the second-largest provider of social housing in North America, it owns more than 350 apartment buildings and another 800 houses and duplexes. Yet, the demand for subsidized housing is always greater than the supply, and wait times are always long.

The Urbanist’s Guide to Kevin Rudd’s Downfall – July 12, 2010
"The political execution of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by his own Australian Labor Party colleagues was extraordinary, the first time a prime minister has been denied a second chance to face the voters."

Smart Growth Bill Repealed – June 23, 2009
"Decisions about the growth of communities should be made by local governments closest to the people living and working in these areas. Local governments can already adopt “smart growth” policies based on the desires of the community without a state-led effort that endorses such planning. This legislation would promote a one-size-fits-all approach to land use and planning that would not work across a state as large and diverse as Texas."

Neither Charity Nor Bulldozers Prevent Slums – June 17, 2009
The root cause of slums is not unexpected population growth or shortage of land: It is a double plague of a lack of property rights and poor planning policies — from Kenya to Brazil.

BUTLER: Dumping 'Smart Growth' Is Wise – March 13, 2009
If we are going to get out of the housing mess, it doesn´t just mean fixing the mortgage market or - as some argue - bailing out homeowners. It also means scaling back the rules in many jurisdictions that continue to artificially push up new house prices and fan the pressure for huge mortgages.

The Case For Affordable Housing In Regina – March 7, 2009
The Canadian Centre for Policy alternatives realizes some home truths about affordable housing: “[Inclusionary zoning] amounts to a narrowly focused tax that aims to serve a broad social function. The real estate industry has become a target because people view the lack of affordable housing as a real estate problem. However, experience in other jurisdictions suggests it is more of an income distribution and regulatory problem…. While attention is focused on distribution of the housing pie, the fundamental supply problems remain unsolved. A better approach is to enlarge the pie to be shared.”

Green Cities, Brown Suburbs – February 23, 2009
Thoreau was wrong. Living in the country is not the right way to care for the Earth. The best thing that we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers.

Go-Ahead For Urban Sprawl – December 10, 2008
The Victorian Government has all but given up on a long-standing pledge to contain Melbourne's urban sprawl, announcing another big expansion of the metropolitan boundary for new housing. Six years after setting a "clear boundary" for the city in the Melbourne 2030 policy, the Government has succumbed to a booming population, a housing shortage and resistance to high-density development in established suburbs.

Rent Control Is the Real New York Scandal – October 21, 2008
There is a better way to address the lack of reasonably priced housing in the city. If Rep. Rangel, Gov. Paterson and all the other well-to-do New Yorkers lost their rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments, there would be a loud public outcry to loosen regulation and allow more new construction.

Affordable Housing No Accident In Houston – September 30, 2008
Houston’s great strength has been its ability to stop political and commercial elites from capturing control and denying Houstonians the ability to make their own decisions about how and where they wish to live and work. It is indeed “the people’s city.”

Regulations Are at the Root of U.S. Housing Mess – September 23, 2008
As Congress and the Fed administer aid to financial institutions that ignored the history of past cycles, policy makers around the country must change regulations that are targeted at aesthetically displeasing urban sprawl, but create harmful price volatility.

One Trip Around Houston, And They're Preaching To The Converted – August 1, 2008
The idea of a city without zoning might imply anarchy. Houston avoids this through protective covenants. All the home owners in a neighbourhood can band together and agree that no development can take place without the approval of the community. These covenants cover a large proportion of the city, but they don't cover vacant land, so they don't impede development and growth. In effect, they provide privatised zoning, but at a local level and without the interference of government and all the corruption that brings with it.

Victoria Unlocks Vast Tracts For Housing – March 28, 2008
Australia's State cabinet decided to speed up the release of residential land after receiving what one Government insider dubbed a "big wake-up call" about the extent of Melbourne's population boom. Premier John Brumby will announce today that all available land within Melbourne's urban growth boundary will be zoned residential — one of the biggest land releases in the city's history — in a bid to give more young families and first-time buyers the chance to get into the property market.

To Lower the Cost of Housing, Cut the Red Tape – November 8, 2007