Urban Issues

Residential Building Permits Concentrated in South and Mountain West

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Texas and Florida lead the nation in residential building permits in 2023 through July.  read more »

2022 ACS Transportation Data

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About 5.0 million Americans relied on transit to get to work in 2022, according to American Community Survey data released by the Census Bureau last week.  read more »

Report: Building the New America

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This new report examines the housing trends that are driving today's migration of people and jobs, and suggests a strategy that better fits the aspirations of most Americans. Below is a summary of the report and a link to download the full report:  read more »

Los Angeles County Proposes Job Creation Ban

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Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, with 10 million residents according to the 2020 census, is proposing what could effectively ban job creation the unincorporated areas, where the County Board of Supervisors functions as a city council. More than one million people live in these areas  read more »

The Urban Doom Loop and Experiential Advantage

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Let’s talk about the “urban doom loop”.

There were quite a few pundits who believed that the Covid pandemic would be the catalyst for a profound transformation of cities.  read more »

America's Sanctuary Cities Are Falling Apart

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If it were not so tragic, it would be funny. For years the progressive Left — in the US as well as across the West — has boasted about its willingness to accept people even if they have arrived in America illegally.  read more »

Whatever Happened to the Great West Coast Cities?

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As recently as the early Nineties, when the great cities of the Midwest and East Coast were careening toward what seemed like an inevitable downturn, the urban agglomerations along the Pacific coast offered a demonstrably brighter urban future. From San Diego to the Puget Sound, urban centers along America’s western edge continued to thrive  read more »

Beauty and the Rust Belt

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Were Rust Belt cities ever really attractive? Cool? Livable?

No.

Rust Belt cities weren’t built for beauty, they were built for enterprise.  read more »

Comparing Canadian and U.S. Metropolitan Areas

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Canada and the United States are among a minority of national governments that formally designate metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas are labor and housing markets which include a core urban area (built up or developed area) as well as rural territory  read more »