Public transit infrastructure in Washington, D.C. is crumbling. Metro and bus services have been cut. Fares have gone up. And, safety remains a problem. After 40 years of deferred maintenance, poor management, and the lack of decent, long-term funding, the Metro system needs $1.4 billion worth of repairs, and it must close a $290 million budget gap just to continue basic operations. Some call this the “metropocalypse.” read more »
Economics
Uber, the “Metropocalypse,” and Economic Inequality in D.C.
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Dan Gilbert’s Post-Mortem of Detroit’s Amazon HQ2 Loss
Billionaire Dan Gilbert has posted a lengthy post-mortem on Detroit’s first round loss in the Amazon HQ2 sweepstakes.
He pooh-pooh’s the idea that talent was the reason, instead suggesting it was Detroit’s negative reputation. read more »
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Revisiting the "Big Theory" on American Urban Development
I like to think I've come a long way since the start of this blog nearly six years ago. There are some early things I've written that have become the focal point of my work today, things I tried to tackle but were better left alone, and things I initiated and warrant a deeper look. This post certainly fits in that third category. read more »
Handicapping Amazon’s Search for a Second Headquarters
Amazon is choosing a city for their second headquarters. The retail behemoth released its “short list” of the 20 cities on January 18.
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, well-known tweeter Iowahawk (@iowahawkblog aka Austin’s David Burge) has enumerated the pros and cons of each location. He swagged the odds for each city. read more »
Indianapolis Gets Another Amazon HQ2 Win
After just writing about how cities like Indianapolis, Columbus, and Raleigh had already won the HQ2 competition just by making the first cut, the New York Times adds further evidence in the form of a lengthy profile on Indianapolis. read more »
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The Screwed Millennial Generation Gets Smart
It’s been seven years since I wrote about “the screwed generation.” The story told has since become familiar: Millennials, then largely in their twenties, faced a future of limited economic opportunity, lower incomes, and too few permanent, high-paying jobs; of soaring college debt and structural insecurity (PDF). read more »
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Hamtramck: Scale and Institutional Frameworks
I recently published an article that explored some of the ways regulations make it difficult for small businesses to get off the ground and function. Among the examples I used from around the country was Bank Suey in Hamtramck, Michigan. My story was subsequently reposted on various other sites which the owner, Alissa Shelton, read and objected to. She felt I hadn’t accurately described her experience as a business owner and that I didn’t present her town in the right light. read more »
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Would You Move to Wisconsin to Save Ten Minutes?
Next City pointed me at a new ad campaign the state of Wisconsin is running aimed at luring Chicago Millennials to move north.
The focus of the campaign is on Wisconsin’s lower cost of living and shorter commute times vs. Chicago. read more »
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Housing Affordability and the Standard of Living: The 14th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
For the eighth year in a row, the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey shows Hong Kong to be the least affordable housing market (metropolitan area) in nine nations. Hong Kong's Median Multiple is 19.4, up from 18.1 last year. The Median Multiple is price to income ratio used in the Survey, calculated by dividing the median house price by the median household income. The Demographia middle-income housing affordability ratings, as well as the summarized results, are shown in Figure 1. The Survey includes 293 markets in nine nations. read more »
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Can the Trump Economy Trump Trump?
President Trump’s critics find it hard to give him credit for anything, especially given his extraordinary boastfulness. Yet Trump’s economic policies seem to be working. New job numbers are robust, GDP and wages continue to rise, stocks are soaring, unemployment continues to decline, and overall growth is at its highest in 13 years. And this salutary picture is not exclusive to big business; the index of small business optimism, as measured by the National Federation of Independent Business, has reached its highest level in the 45-year history of the survey. read more »
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