Small Cities

A cadre of Silicon Valley elites is drawing fierce criticism from local residents and environmentalists for planning a new city on the outskirts of the Bay Area  read more »

My young daughter was extremely excited when I pulled up to the large, two-level skate park in Riverhead, New York. I have been taking her brother there for many years and, despite her young age and small size, she wanted to take her scooter to the park.  read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

In the middle of the 20th century, there was considerable interest in developing new communities (new towns). The interest was, to some degree, driven by the establishment of new towns in nations like the United Kingdom and France, where a number of projects had been completed by 1970.  read more »

Whether hundreds of years ago or today, the far-reaching environmental impacts of urbanization are because cities are “a node of pure consumption existing parasitically on an extensive external resource base.”  read more »

"Town and country must be married and out of this joyous union will spring a new hope, a new life, a new civilization.”
— Ebenezer Howard, 1898"

All cities must evolve over time. Those that fail to do so end up, at best, like Venice, Vienna, or Florence: lifestyle and tourist hubs. This fate now awaits our greatest urban cores if they cannot address the demographic, social, and economic forces transforming the metropolitan landscape.  read more »