Urban Issues

I came across a couple of interesting pieces in the last week that had me thinking about the past, present and future of American cities again. After reading them, I felt somewhat upbeat and validated, but also concerned.  read more »

Over the six decades that transit subsidies have been virtually universal, governments and media have urged people to give up driving and switch to transit.  read more »

New York City, like many urban areas, has suffered vacant storefronts in recent years. The causes are likely many  read more »

Less than half of New York City residents feel safe riding the subway today, down from 82 percent before the pandemic.  read more »

Moving Away from the Major Metros: The recent Census Bureau population estimates release revealed a massive shift of domestic migrants away from the major metropolitan areas  read more »

Due to budget concerns, New York City Mayor Eric Adams proposed cuts to the New York City public library budgets, forcing the majority of public libraries to cut their hours and open only five days a week.  read more »

(Note: Last week I was fortunate enough to have an opinion piece written by Ed Zotti and myself published in Crain's Chicago Business. It's on the continuing loss of Chicago's Black middle class, at least as defined by its ability to attract Black college graduates. The article is behind a paywall, but as a co-author I took the liberty of posting it here.  read more »

Before the pandemic, Europeans relied on automobiles for 70 percent of their travel, compared with 77 percent for U.S. residents. But after the pandemic, in 2021, the European share of passenger travel that used automobiles climbed to 80 percent, while the U.S. share increased only to 78 percent  read more »

Talk of the future of (some) cities these days can bring out the pessimists, who warn of an “urban doom loop.”  read more »

Back in 2018, I attended and participated in an event called “Tools Toward Market Restoration”, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  read more »