Urban Issues

I have often thought that if we lived in a society in which anyone, including those of only average or even below average ability, who works hard and plays by the rules could realistically look forward to a rich and fulfilling life, then much of the cultural and racial conflict that is currently dividing our country would simply disappear.  read more »

The world is careening toward a climate crisis, and by that we do not mean nasty weather or impending human extinction. The real challenge lies in adapting to a changing climate without undermining an already stressed global order  read more »

The King of Wall Street has spoken, but the peasants are not listening. Ever since the end of the lockdowns, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, like many of his elite counterparts in cities from New York to Seattle, has been calling for the workers to return to their cubicles and daily commutes.  read more »

When my Gen Z students graduated a few months ago, I noticed something unusual about their post-baccalaureate plans. For most of my teaching career, many of my students would move to New York City or other large cities to be at the center of the cultural zeitgeist and be connected with others.  read more »

One of the often-used arguments from advocates for increasing housing supply in our nation's most expensive cities is that zoning policy, or the regulation of land use by local government, has kept an artificially low ceiling on housing development  read more »

This new report examines the housing crisis in California and strategies to create more housing at affordable price points. Below is a summary and a link to download the full report  read more »

With federal approval of New York’s environmental assessment, most of the federal, state, and local obstacles to New York City’s cordon pricing plan — which almost everyone erroneously calls a congestion pricing plan  read more »

Driven, at least in part, by the huge increase in the potential for remote work, US residents moved in large numbers to states with lower urban densities  read more »

I try hard to give people insights into trends affecting our world. One of them is the way that declining birth rates will ultimately translate into shrinking cities.  read more »

With office districts and tower blocks losing their lustre, we need to rethink what cities are for. It’s time to create better neighbourhoods where people will want to spend their time.  read more »