New Geography in the News

"There’s an interesting essay in the latest Newsweek by urban thinker Joel Kotkin, who argues that, for reasons familial, economic and technological, often-rootless Americans are entering a time when we’re more likely to stay put. And that this will have all sorts of implications for the communities we call home."

Joel in Saint Louis Today

"'There is no question that her willingness and ability to use social network media, including the latest flap on her [pictures] on Twitter, makes her much more credible and accessible to the Millennial Generation,' says Morley Winograd, a fellow at the think tank NDN and co-author of 'Millenial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics.'"

Morley on CSM

"Joel Kotkin sees a trend in a 'New Localism'- people aren't moving around like they used to, and it's causing them to reengage with their communities."

Joel on Planetizen

"Joel Kotkin in 'Rethinking Public Policy' argues that ‘such approaches cannot provide the public realm with a robust and viable sense of its future, in part because it denies the past that binds our families, our communities, and the nation. In the end, the reanimation of public policy will require a reaffirmation of our shared religious, moral, and political heritage – not as the total truth, but as the foundation upon which we can rebuild the public sphere.’"

Joel on Barbados Underground

"JOEL KOTKIN: Our Euro President. “'Barack Obama’s seemingly inexplicable winning of the Nobel Peace Prize says less about him than about the current mentality of Europe’s leadership class. Lacking any strong, compelling voices of their own, the Europeans are now trying to hijack our president as their spokesman.'”

Joel on Instapundit

"President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize has been justified by some because it draws attention to the goal he endorses of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. I share that goal, but not because nuclear weapons are uniquely horrible – if you’re a victim, it makes little difference whether you’re killed or maimed by nuclear weapons or conventional weapons, which sometimes can create lingering illnesses and poison the landscape, too. I support the abolition of nuclear weapons because, if it were successful, it would lock in the advantages of the small number of great powers like the U.S. that are capable of building and maintaining first-class conventional militaries."

Michael on Just Above Sunset

"'Someone who grew up living in 2,500 square feet with a driveway leading up to the front door isn't going to downsize to 850 square feet until he's ready for assisted living," says Joel Kotkin, a scholar on urban development who wrote The City: A Global History. "The new urbanists convinced the idiot development community there was going to be this massive move that never happened.'"

Joel on The Orlando Sentinel

"Joel Kotkin is a opposite ends of the spectrum with Robert Florida, who believes that without the help of the "Creative Class" a city will fail to be a community of "coolness". You can't have a community of technology based professionals and expect them to live in an "uncool" city. After work, there has to be something that will draw them to live there. A community needs both a reputable safe haven for families, and professionals with the expertise in research and development and also the arts, culture and other forms of entertainment, e.g., bars. If not, then it will just be a place for them to work; they will live and play somewhere else."

Joel on Celebrate Urban Diversity

"Globally, geographic mobility is increasing. A recent UN Development Program report goes so far as to call for even more migration. Ironically, Joel Kotkin sees a countertrend emerging in the United States."

Joel on Burgh Diaspora

"I think this is doomed. ... In the U.S., discretionary regulation tends to be corrupted. I want structural separation between retail banking and casino banking, where retail money couldn't be used to finance the proprietary trading."

Michael Lind on Bubble Meter

""They have done everything they can to build a good business location," says noted California writer, demographer and lecturer Joel Kotkin about the community of Ontario, Calif. "They have built the infrastructure." In addition to a thriving logistics scene, the environs of LA/Ontario International Airport also include such developments as the Ontario Airport Towers, above, developed by PGP Partners and Deutsche Asset Management."

Joel on Site Selection

"Fortune, of “America’s Most Livable Cities” fame, recently published a protest of all such rankings. Urbanist Joel Kotkin says he prefers cities of “ambitious migrants, families and entrepreneurs” to those promising “safety, sanitation or homogeneity.” Or advanced degrees, let’s say. Kotkin finds an urban standard in 17th-century Amsterdam, which Rene Descartes described as “an inventory of the possible.” Whatever its failures, Las Vegas passes that test."

Joel on Las Vegas Weekly

"The minimum wage in the United States today is far below what it was a few decades ago, thanks to inflation. At the same time, in the last generation wages have stagnated while roughly half of the gains from economic growth have gone to a tiny number of rich Americans. Many conservative economists and business executives argue that companies cannot afford high wages for ordinary workers. Aren't high salaries and bonuses costs as well? "

Michael on The Daily Doubter

"Wendell Cox, Joel Kotkin, James Heartfield, and Mark Pennington have devastating presentations on the effects of smart growth on housing (the Antiplanner talks on this subject as well)."

Joel and Wendell on The New America Foundation

"'They came here, they educated their kids, they had a pool and a house. That was the opportunity for a pretty broad section of society,' says Joel Kotkin, an urbanist at Chapman University, in Orange County. This was what attracted immigrants in their millions, flocking to industries – especially defence and aviation – that seemed to promise jobs for life. But the newcomers were mistaken. Levine, among millions of others, does not think California is a utopia now. 'California is going to take decades to fix,' he says."

Joel on The Guardian