“Romer’s biggest idea is the importance of “rules.” Rules are, he, believes, the core DNA of any successful city–not sidewalks, not small blocks, not the width or layout of city streets. New ideas don’t need old buildings; they need strong patent and bankruptcy laws. Good rules explain why Nogales, Ariz., is roughly three times as rich as its sister city across the Mexican border. Instead of over-thinking urban form through rigid codes and top-down planning–the approach favored by modernists and New Urbanists alike–Romer and his partners refuse to plan at all, preferring to search for a minimum set of rules from which order can emerge.”

Click here to read the full article by Greg Lindsay.