Donald Trump is Saving California from Itself

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Gavin Newsom has changed direction once again. After a brief feint as a Maga-whispering moderate, California’s governor has “woken up”  read more »

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Delusion Down Under

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Nearly three dozen countries have legally binding targets to achieve net zero. The list has some notable countries including Russia and Ukraine. In addition, Nigeria, the European Union, Canada, and the Republic of Moldova, have all pledged to slash their carbon dioxide emissions to zero over the next two decades or so.  read more »

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New Report: How to Save Our Urban Centers

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“A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.” — Aristotle

American cities face an existential choice. They can continue down their current path – adopting policies that work against the interests of local residents – or develop new approaches to make urban life work for the broad majority.  read more »

Why No Unicorns in Italy?

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I’m on a panel about this tonight.

A unicorn is a privately owned startup company worth more than $1 billion.  read more »

Inside America's Right-Wing Tech Armoury

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At first glance, it doesn’t feel like the future will be made in El Segundo. A small city of 17,000, just south of Los Angeles International Airport, it’s the sort of place you glance at from your taxi as it whisks you on from arrivals to somewhere more exciting.  read more »

Affordable Housing for $1.3 Million Per Unit

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The Washington Post has discovered that there are “inefficiencies” in the nation’s affordable housing programs, including its largest one, low-income housing tax credits.  read more »

What's the Matter with Los Angeles?

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Los Angeles is reeling once again from urban disturbances, as it did in 1965, 1992 and 2020. After each outbreak the city is widely seen as a hopeless disaster  read more »

The Fundamental Falsehood Guiding Modern Liberal Politics

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One of the more curious, not to mention consequential, aspects of modern liberalism is its reliance on assumptions that collapse under even rudimentary scrutiny. For example, the liberal “YIMBY” movement  read more »

Los Angeles Has Fallen

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Los Angeles is burning again, and it is not the Olympic flame. After riots in 1965, 1992 and 2020, Angelenos are bearing witness once more to a rash of violent unrest.  read more »

Cities and Economic Pivots

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Here’s something I think about a lot. I believe in that Shakespearean phrase “what’s past is prologue”, meaning that past events serve as a good indicator of what the future may hold.  read more »