This is consistent with a substantial body of economic theory, albeit not conventional neoclassical economics, which frequently treats transit as a special case. This conflict is linked to faulty assumptions underlying neoclassical economic theory.

Why does New York City have a subway system, and why does it have such an unusual design? Railroad engineers developed its bold and ambitious design in 1891 for the purposes of speed and convenience, above all else. By understanding the original thinking behind the subway, we can see beneath the grit and appreciate the true beauty of the system…and be inspired to build even bigger and better things in the future. The subway possesses a combination of design elements that make it unequalled among the world’s major rapid transit systems. The pillars of the system’s design are the high-speed right-of-way and trains, being underground but close to the surface, having extensive four-track mainlines with all tracks on the same level, and providing bi-directional local and express service.

New York could have had a practical and profitable subway in operation by the 1870s—financed entirely by the private sector—had franchise terms been as liberal as those in Great Britain. Although it would not have been as technologically sophisticated as the 1904 subway, it would have been superior to the elevated railways of the time. Moreover, permitting experimentation and entrepreneurship in New York City's transportation industry would ultimately have accelerated the development of subway technology. Regardless, given the political constraints, the DBOM public-private partnership model finalized in 1900 was extremely successful. The lines built under this model comprise half of today’s New York City Subway network. Fares were low, no government subsidies were required, and investors earned high returns (until the unprecedented inflation of World War I, which could have been resolved by allowing the franchisees to raise fares with inflation).

What is the purpose and effect of non-compete clauses in infrastructure privatization contracts? Can we expect infrastructure privatization to achieve efficiency gains when competition is barred?

Radically improved urban transportation would greatly improve our quality of life and standard of living, and substeading would achieve this. Substeading is homesteading underground; it is a legal process that would allow new privately owned corridors to be brought into productive use from the unused subsurface. Substeading is economically powerful, based on proven technology, and could transform big cities in a generation. It would create brand-new and conveniently-located rights-of-way, ideal for new urban transportation networks and other infrastructure. This would pave the way for bigger and better cities by nurturing new construction and infrastructure technologies and by eroding regulatory obstacles to new development. Substeading is also politically practical because it has minimal environmental impacts, requires no government funding, and doesn’t use eminent domain.

The Manhattan skyline is one of the great wonders of the modern world. But how and why did it form? Much has been written about the city's architecture and its general history, but little work has explored the economic forces that created the skyline. In Building the Skyline, Jason Barr chronicles the economic history of the Manhattan skyline. In the process, he debunks some widely held misconceptions about the city's history. Starting with Manhattan's natural and geological history, Barr moves on to how these formations influenced early land use and the development of neighborhoods, including the dense tenement neighborhoods of Five Points and the Lower East Side, and how these early decisions eventually impacted the location of skyscrapers built during the Skyscraper Revolution at the end of the 19th century. Barr then explores the economic history of skyscrapers and the skyline, investigating the reasons for their heights, frequencies, locations, and shapes. He discusses why skyscrapers emerged downtown and why they appeared three miles to the north in midtown-but not in between the two areas. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to the depths of Manhattan's bedrock, nor the presence of Grand Central Station. Rather, midtown's emergence was a response to the economic and demographic forces that were taking place north of 14th Street after the Civil War. Building the Skyline also presents the first rigorous investigation of the causes of the building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the boom was largely a rational response to the economic growth of the nation and city. The last chapter investigates the value of Manhattan Island and the relationship between skyscrapers and land prices. Finally, an Epilogue offers policy recommendations for a resilient and robust future skyline.

Christian Heurich (1842-1945) was not only Washington D.C.'s most successful brewer, he was the world's oldest, with 90 years' experience. He walked across central Europe learning his craft, survived a shipboard cholera epidemic, recovered from malaria and worked as a roustabout on a Caribbean banana boat--all by age 30. Heurich lived most of his life in Washington, becoming its largest private landowner and opening the city's largest brewery. He won a "beer war" against his rivals and his beers won medals at World's Fairs. He was trapped in Europe while on vacation at the start of both World Wars, once sleeping through an air raid, and was accused of being a German spy plotting to assassinate Woodrow Wilson. A notably odd episode: when they began to tear down his old brewery to build the Kennedy Center, the wrecking ball bounced off the walls. Drawing on family papers and photos, the author chronicles Heurich's life and the evolving beer industry before and after Prohibition.