How Much Of Urbanism Is Poverty?

Or do we mistake an old economic era for a land-use approach?

So I’ve floated this idea before, here and there, but it’s something I keep thinking about: is what we call “urbanism” largely an element of poverty? Or, a little more specifically, a lower level of economic development?

I always remember a talk from a lefty environmentalist at a panel in D.C., many years ago. He was dealing with the argument that we sho…