Urban Issues

I’ve written a lot about how growing up in Detroit was instrumental in my desire to improve and revitalize cities. Watching a city being hollowed out and disgraced in the ‘70s and ‘80s can have that impact.  read more »

For the last century, no state more epitomized the ideals of upward mobility and technological and cultural innovation than California.  read more »

Sometimes you try to put a positive gloss on a situation, but the underlying concerns that cause the need for such spin come back to bite you.  read more »

Just a quick note on an encouraging article by James Rodriguez of Business Insider. Rodriguez reports a significant reduction in house prices in Austin, Texas, due to building a large number of single-family homes and apartments. I was unable to discern whether the article dealt with the Austin market (the metropolitan area) or the city (which is a housing submarket). Nor could I tell if his insightful comparison to San Francisco was the housing market (metro) or the city submarket.  read more »

Overall, immigration has both positive and negative effects, something rarely acknowledged by advocates on either side.  read more »

Last week, the shopping period for my classes at Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) was disrupted on Zoom by a  “Divestment Coalition” of campus groups, including the Sarah Lawrence Socialist Coalition and the Sarah Lawrence Review.  read more »

“Ordinary Americans of all backgrounds and convictions recognize that the entire political ecosystem—not only its leadership and its governing institutions, but also its leading ideas and ideals—is failing.”  read more »

For decades, Canada won a deserved reputation as a country with a sensible immigration policy  read more »

In a recent post I noted problematic city/suburb relationships that harm Midwestern cities and metros.  read more »

Recently we reported that current, official population projections by state agencies indicate that Texas will become the most populous state by 2050.  read more »