Urban Issues

The long, streaking commuter trains (suburban rail) carrying workers mostly into and out of downtown every day may give the impression of “rapid transit.” However, regardless of the top speeds they reach, the average suburban rail rider spends far more time traveling to work than those using other modes of getting to work (Figure 1). They spend far longer than the majority of commuters, who drive alone. Even in the New York combined statistical area (CSA), with the largest suburban rail network a majority drive to work (Figure 2).  read more »

No state wears its multicultural veneer more ostentatiously than California. The Golden State’s leaders believe that they lead a progressive paradise, ushering in what theorists Laura Tyson and Lenny Mendonca call “a new progressive era.” Others see California as deserving of nationhood; it reflects, as a New York Times columnist put it, “the shared values of our increasingly tolerant and pluralistic society.”  read more »

Considerations for downtowns, commercial corridors, and main streets

We are at the end of the beginning. There are going to be closures, vacancies, and job losses across communities. How long and how deep will be a function of how well the next three-to-six months are managed  read more »

One of the candidates for president in this November’s election is known by the nickname, “Amtrak Joe.” The Democratic-controlled House wants to triple federal funding for intercity passenger trains.  read more »

Be it resolved, COVID-19 and its social and economic fall out spells the end of the big city boom.

Listen to the debate at Munk Debates.

About this episode  read more »

Let’s start at the beginning, Joel. In talking about your new book, “The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class,” do you literally fear that liberal capitalism is losing out to economic “feudalism”? And please put that word feudalism in a modern context for our readers.  read more »

The New York Times reported on July 4 that 239 scientists in 32 countries had signed an Open Letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) outlining “the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people, and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations.” The letter was published in the journal  read more »

The evening cheers in support of health care workers during the worst of New York’s coronavirus outbreak were a rare bright spot in a day full of depressing developments.  read more »

So last month I saw an article in the New York Times about the resurfacing of a video documenting a racist attack on black children in Rosedale, Queens in New York City in 1975. A group of black kids from a nearby neighborhood decided to go on a "bike hike" through surrounding neighborhoods. Little did they know they would stumble on a protest against black movement into the area.  read more »

In the past month or so, we’ve seen the destruction or defacement of statues of Confederate generals, the Father of our Country who was also a slaveowner, the Great Emancipationist, the  read more »