Daily Archives: March 21, 2026

White Paper: Demand Formation and Cultural Normalization: How Vice Becomes “Just Part of the City”

Posted on March 21, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract The persistence of vice markets in urban environments cannot be explained by supply-side infrastructure alone. Demand for vice goods and services is not a fixed biological constant that regulation either satisfies or suppresses; it is a culturally formed, socially … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Spatial Distribution and Urban Form: Why Vice Clusters — or Spreads

Posted on March 21, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract The spatial organization of vice in urban environments is neither random nor merely the product of demand geography. It is the outcome of complex interactions among land use regulation, real estate economics, transportation infrastructure, enforcement practice, and the agglomeration … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Legal Pathways to Vice Saturation: How Different Laws Produce the Same Outcome

Posted on March 21, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract A persistent and underexamined paradox in the comparative study of vice regulation is that jurisdictions adopting radically different legal philosophies — from expansive constitutional permissiveness to aggressive licensing frameworks, from federally fragmented enforcement to judicially activist speech protection — … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Typology of Vice Ecosystems: How Different Cities Arrive at Similar Outcomes

Posted on March 21, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract Despite significant variation in legal regimes, cultural contexts, and political histories, cities across the United States and the world exhibit a striking convergence in outcomes related to vice — the persistence of markets for gambling, sex work, illicit substances, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Infrastructure of Vice: A Systems Analysis of Durability and Self-Reinforcement

Posted on March 21, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract Vice industries — encompassing gambling, prostitution, illicit drug markets, tobacco, alcohol, and related activities — exhibit a remarkable durability across time, geography, and regulatory regime. This paper argues that vice is not merely a product of human appetite but … Continue reading →

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