Scott Alexander uses a thought experiment about a drum-free town to explore libertarian ideas on community rights, then applies these concepts to real-world housing issues and proposes charter cities as a potential solution.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of community rights and individual freedoms through a thought experiment about a fictional town called Nodrumia. He uses this to discuss libertarian philosophy, property rights, and the balance between community preferences and individual liberties. The post then transitions to real-world applications, discussing NIMBYism and proposing charter cities as a potential solution to housing shortages. He uses the example of Irvine, California to illustrate how planned cities can be successful, and suggests that creating new cities might be easier than reforming existing ones to address housing crises.
Shorter summary