Polycentricity is great for cars and bad for everything else. A walkable, transit-oriented city is one with large job concentration in and near the center, and the European cities you think are counterexamples are rather strongly-centered (Paris, Munich, Stockholm, Berlin...).
Give me your hottest urbanist hot takes
November 27, 2024 at 1:58 PM
Polycentricity is great for cars and bad for everything else. A walkable, transit-oriented city is one with large job concentration in and near the center, and the European cities you think are counterexamples are rather strongly-centered (Paris, Munich, Stockholm, Berlin...).
Elinor & Vincent Ostrom did vital research on self-governance, polycentricity, democracy, social dilemmas, coproduction, public entrepreneurship, & the commons.
A starter pack featuring scholars who advance this research agenda. go.bsky.app/GwUPgW4
Suggested additions welcome.
A starter pack featuring scholars who advance this research agenda. go.bsky.app/GwUPgW4
Suggested additions welcome.
November 20, 2024 at 1:47 AM
Elinor & Vincent Ostrom did vital research on self-governance, polycentricity, democracy, social dilemmas, coproduction, public entrepreneurship, & the commons.
A starter pack featuring scholars who advance this research agenda. go.bsky.app/GwUPgW4
Suggested additions welcome.
A starter pack featuring scholars who advance this research agenda. go.bsky.app/GwUPgW4
Suggested additions welcome.
the fact there isn't a 101 essay or zine that's "here's what polycentricity is and why its good" 😭
December 24, 2024 at 9:07 PM
the fact there isn't a 101 essay or zine that's "here's what polycentricity is and why its good" 😭
Mortals in SOFLOC might tell stories about their gods warring or making alliances, but in truth, the gods exist in a harmonious state of polycentricity, each one encompassing all things, including each other, in their own unique, individual ways. There are no real factions among them. 🧵 #MythAugust
#MythAugust Day 4
Today I want to hear about different factions among your gods, if any!
Don't just list the factions; tell me their relationship. Do they get along, or are they enemies? As usual, feel free to interpret this question as broadly as you want!
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Writesky
Today I want to hear about different factions among your gods, if any!
Don't just list the factions; tell me their relationship. Do they get along, or are they enemies? As usual, feel free to interpret this question as broadly as you want!
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Writesky
August 4, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Mortals in SOFLOC might tell stories about their gods warring or making alliances, but in truth, the gods exist in a harmonious state of polycentricity, each one encompassing all things, including each other, in their own unique, individual ways. There are no real factions among them. 🧵 #MythAugust
open.substack.com/pub/cyrilhed... by Cyril Hédoin
Is Federalism “Competitive”?
With Some Lessons for Polycentricity Studies
open.substack.com
February 22, 2026 at 6:56 PM
open.substack.com/pub/cyrilhed... by Cyril Hédoin
Realists trying to play with concepts like polycentricity, constructed/fluid/layered identities, and dynamic institutional structures definitely gives this vibe:
Steve Buscemi: How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?
ALT: Steve Buscemi: How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?
static.klipy.com
September 21, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Realists trying to play with concepts like polycentricity, constructed/fluid/layered identities, and dynamic institutional structures definitely gives this vibe:
maybe i need to read ostrom's polycentricity again
June 26, 2026 at 11:30 PM
maybe i need to read ostrom's polycentricity again
The polycentricity of English also means that there's a lot more flexibility for pronunciation.
March 28, 2026 at 1:33 PM
The polycentricity of English also means that there's a lot more flexibility for pronunciation.
“It is polycentricity all the way down.”
I continue my commentary on @hubner.likes.earth's Theological Common Minimums, focusing on the next three:
Maxim 4: Each God is complete in their divinity.
Maxim 5: No God can be reduced to another.
Maxim 6: In their own way, each God is in every God.
symmetria.substack.com/p/commentary...
Maxim 4: Each God is complete in their divinity.
Maxim 5: No God can be reduced to another.
Maxim 6: In their own way, each God is in every God.
symmetria.substack.com/p/commentary...
Commentary on the Theological Common Minimums Part 2
Theological Maxims 4, 5, and 6
symmetria.substack.com
March 12, 2026 at 8:52 PM
“It is polycentricity all the way down.”
3 cures to monomania
1. Broad + deep, high quality education focused on logic, consequential thinking, civics, humanities, arts & science (especially entropy & the 2nd law of thermodynamics)
2. Diversity. Diversified thinking, diverse teams, diverse communities
3. Polycentricity cont. 5 /
1. Broad + deep, high quality education focused on logic, consequential thinking, civics, humanities, arts & science (especially entropy & the 2nd law of thermodynamics)
2. Diversity. Diversified thinking, diverse teams, diverse communities
3. Polycentricity cont. 5 /
April 8, 2025 at 11:14 PM
3 cures to monomania
1. Broad + deep, high quality education focused on logic, consequential thinking, civics, humanities, arts & science (especially entropy & the 2nd law of thermodynamics)
2. Diversity. Diversified thinking, diverse teams, diverse communities
3. Polycentricity cont. 5 /
1. Broad + deep, high quality education focused on logic, consequential thinking, civics, humanities, arts & science (especially entropy & the 2nd law of thermodynamics)
2. Diversity. Diversified thinking, diverse teams, diverse communities
3. Polycentricity cont. 5 /
I'm new to Bluesky, so here's a brief intro.
I'm an economist who studies institutions, public choice, polycentricity, market processes, defense & peace, border militarization, and more. www.nathanpgoodman.com
I'm an economist who studies institutions, public choice, polycentricity, market processes, defense & peace, border militarization, and more. www.nathanpgoodman.com
Nathan P. Goodman
I am a Senior Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in t...
www.nathanpgoodman.com
November 12, 2024 at 10:47 PM
I'm new to Bluesky, so here's a brief intro.
I'm an economist who studies institutions, public choice, polycentricity, market processes, defense & peace, border militarization, and more. www.nathanpgoodman.com
I'm an economist who studies institutions, public choice, polycentricity, market processes, defense & peace, border militarization, and more. www.nathanpgoodman.com
(This is the good bit!)
"Let this process run long enough, and a very complex array of interconnected centers of authority will emerge and will continue to evolve as circumstances change."
(This is her central idea of polycentricity - the messiness of governance is often helpful.). 3/n
"Let this process run long enough, and a very complex array of interconnected centers of authority will emerge and will continue to evolve as circumstances change."
(This is her central idea of polycentricity - the messiness of governance is often helpful.). 3/n
January 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
(This is the good bit!)
"Let this process run long enough, and a very complex array of interconnected centers of authority will emerge and will continue to evolve as circumstances change."
(This is her central idea of polycentricity - the messiness of governance is often helpful.). 3/n
"Let this process run long enough, and a very complex array of interconnected centers of authority will emerge and will continue to evolve as circumstances change."
(This is her central idea of polycentricity - the messiness of governance is often helpful.). 3/n
“Complexity is not the same as chaos”. There’s a nice chapter from Alice Calder in here that unpacks Ostrom’s idea of polycentricity.
Public officials often think they need to tidy up institutions that seem messy - overlapping remits, etc. 1/2
Public officials often think they need to tidy up institutions that seem messy - overlapping remits, etc. 1/2
November 16, 2024 at 8:28 PM
“Complexity is not the same as chaos”. There’s a nice chapter from Alice Calder in here that unpacks Ostrom’s idea of polycentricity.
Public officials often think they need to tidy up institutions that seem messy - overlapping remits, etc. 1/2
Public officials often think they need to tidy up institutions that seem messy - overlapping remits, etc. 1/2
Okay, but then all the Rhine-Ruhr urban cores with Stadtbahns have very high rail usage per capita - the region's weaker rail usage is in the suburbs and a lot of that is polycentricity favoring cars plus a weaker S-Bahn network.
April 8, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Okay, but then all the Rhine-Ruhr urban cores with Stadtbahns have very high rail usage per capita - the region's weaker rail usage is in the suburbs and a lot of that is polycentricity favoring cars plus a weaker S-Bahn network.
The alternative, then, is what Ostrom and colleagues called “polycentricity.” In between The Market and The State lies a vast range of civil society institutions at various levels. 7/13
December 29, 2024 at 12:59 AM
The alternative, then, is what Ostrom and colleagues called “polycentricity.” In between The Market and The State lies a vast range of civil society institutions at various levels. 7/13
2. Her core idea of polycentricity. This is the idea that it’s often actually better to have messy systems of overlapping governance (local, national, etc). And these often outperform systems that seem more logical and tidy, such as centralized management.
October 14, 2024 at 6:33 PM
2. Her core idea of polycentricity. This is the idea that it’s often actually better to have messy systems of overlapping governance (local, national, etc). And these often outperform systems that seem more logical and tidy, such as centralized management.
How is this a hot take? Everyone in urbanism looks at LA as a failed paradigm with a low ceiling on transit potential due to its polycentricity.
November 27, 2024 at 2:12 PM
How is this a hot take? Everyone in urbanism looks at LA as a failed paradigm with a low ceiling on transit potential due to its polycentricity.
“The central liberal values of limits
on power, and individual agency and security against arbitrary power, are
maximized under conditions of pluralism or polycentricity.”
@kevincarson1.bsky.social’s new @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social study on liberal socialism
on power, and individual agency and security against arbitrary power, are
maximized under conditions of pluralism or polycentricity.”
@kevincarson1.bsky.social’s new @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social study on liberal socialism
Liberal Socialism
Liberal Socialism By Kevin A. Carson A new C4SS study by Kevin Carson (online pdf).
c4ss.org
July 10, 2026 at 6:22 PM
“The central liberal values of limits
on power, and individual agency and security against arbitrary power, are
maximized under conditions of pluralism or polycentricity.”
@kevincarson1.bsky.social’s new @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social study on liberal socialism
on power, and individual agency and security against arbitrary power, are
maximized under conditions of pluralism or polycentricity.”
@kevincarson1.bsky.social’s new @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social study on liberal socialism
An insufficiently appreciated aspect of both of these doctrines, and which can only really be traced to polytheism, is the element of polycentricity in them, which recognizes each power as not merely a part of the whole, but as itself the whole from its proper perspective.
December 6, 2024 at 11:51 PM
An insufficiently appreciated aspect of both of these doctrines, and which can only really be traced to polytheism, is the element of polycentricity in them, which recognizes each power as not merely a part of the whole, but as itself the whole from its proper perspective.
It's a story of finding city center job concentration offensive, so she specifically only zones for more offices in peripheral parts of the city, which are less accessible by Métro and RER than the center. Polycentricity isn't actually good for anything other than encouraging more people to drive.
November 27, 2024 at 1:53 PM
It's a story of finding city center job concentration offensive, so she specifically only zones for more offices in peripheral parts of the city, which are less accessible by Métro and RER than the center. Polycentricity isn't actually good for anything other than encouraging more people to drive.
The issue here gets back to polycentricity: each of the three faculties—rational, emotional and desiring—has to be capable of being understood in a totalizing sense, or else we don't feel the force of Socrates' argument for the rational.
January 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The issue here gets back to polycentricity: each of the three faculties—rational, emotional and desiring—has to be capable of being understood in a totalizing sense, or else we don't feel the force of Socrates' argument for the rational.
NRW here unfortunately has the issue that is has two very large Urban areas (Core Ruhr, Cologne) which are not its capital and thus priorization is really difficult, especially with the Ruhr polycentricity.
April 8, 2025 at 1:11 PM
NRW here unfortunately has the issue that is has two very large Urban areas (Core Ruhr, Cologne) which are not its capital and thus priorization is really difficult, especially with the Ruhr polycentricity.
Today, I join the discussion on “Future Cities Leadership: How can we make density and polycentricity work for cities?” at the World Cities Summit in Singapore, exploring how urban leaders can shape more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban futures.
June 16, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Today, I join the discussion on “Future Cities Leadership: How can we make density and polycentricity work for cities?” at the World Cities Summit in Singapore, exploring how urban leaders can shape more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban futures.
Plato's vision of the afterlife, a "meadow" where all souls—human and animal—gather on the same level to choose their next lives, embodying the radical polycentricity of Platonic thought. youtube.com/watch
Plato’s Meadow: Where Humans and Animals are Truly Equal
YouTube video by Palinode Productions
youtube.com
April 4, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Plato's vision of the afterlife, a "meadow" where all souls—human and animal—gather on the same level to choose their next lives, embodying the radical polycentricity of Platonic thought. youtube.com/watch
Disagree. Polycentricity is a general emergency phenomenon of transportation and urban economics. We see more of it with cars because cars/car mandates make the costs of higher density prohibitive until much higher land values.
November 27, 2024 at 2:02 PM
Disagree. Polycentricity is a general emergency phenomenon of transportation and urban economics. We see more of it with cars because cars/car mandates make the costs of higher density prohibitive until much higher land values.