suburbs

Rick Harrison is President of Rick Harrison Site Design Studio and Neighborhood Innovations. Rick has been instrumental in advancing land planning techniques as well as technology for almost all professions tied to land development.

The Next Australian City: the Suburban Evolution

Guy Gibson and Ross Elliott — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:01:10 -0400

Australia, much like America, is a nation of suburbs. The overwhelming majority of its people live, work and play in the suburbs of Australian cities. And while Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world, with two thirds of them living in their capital cities – and principally Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane at that – it is the suburbs of those cities that remain the preferred place to live.

The evolution of Australian cities and suburbs is a theme explored in this book by Suburban Futures, edited by Guy Gibson and Ross Elliott. It features 30 authors and includes international perspectives by Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox, Peter Gordon, Alan Berger and June Williamson and Ellen Dunham-Jones. The Canadian experience is told by Antony Lorius and Laura Taylor. Every Australian state and territory is also covered, each by a different author – all experts in their field but all with different perspectives on the history and future of suburban development.

North American readers will find much that is familiar and much that is new in this book. The editors have sought to provide a fresh sense of legitimacy for the suburban story of Australia which – much like in North America – is frequently the subject of disdain and derision. “The suburbs are about boredom, and obviously some people like being bored and plain and predictable, I'm happy for them … even if their suburbs are destroying the world,” was an infamous comment by noted Australian urbanist Elizabeth Farrelly. That’s not a view shared by authors in this work, who nonetheless are unafraid to tackle valid concerns around connectivity, mobility, equity and amenity.

The Next Australian City is for this reason both enlightening about the Australian experience, and challenging in terms of how its cities and suburbs will be shaped by global and local forces into the future.

Available at Amazon.

Large Majority of Minorities Live in Suburbs

Wendell Cox — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:13:26 -0400

Figure 1 below shows the share of the major minorities living in either the urban core or the suburbs of the 51 metropolitan areas included in the City Sector Model. It is based on 2015-2019 zip code data and the urban form as defined in Figure 2 (which is independent of municipal boundaries).

Today, a majority of each large minority have lives in the suburbs and exurbs, ranging from African-Americans (76.3%), to Asians (80.5%) to Hispanics (83.3%). These figures nearly equal the 90% of White-Non-Hispanics live in the suburbs and exurbs (Figure 1). This is nothing new. By 2000, more than two-thirds of African-Americans lived in the suburbs and exurbs and more than three quarters of Asians and Hispanics. The suburban exodus, often called “white flight” has long since evolved into “Black flight,” “Asian flight” and “Hispanic flight.”

Note: Demographia City Sector Model back to top

The Demographia City Sector Model uses improved data from the American Community Survey, which made it possible to better separate urban core, suburban and exurban life styles and functions within metropolitan areas. Before, nearly all urban core, suburban and exurban analysis within metropolitan areas was based on municipal or county jurisdictions. The problem was, however, that nearly all new development since World War II had been lower density, principally single-family houses, while the automobile quickly replaced much of the commuting that had been previously been on transit or on foot. For the most part, the only core municipalities that annexed substantially have grown since World War II, and that growth has been suburban in character.

The Demographia City Sector Model classifies zip code (postal code) residents based principally on population densities and extent of automobile commuting into five functional classifications, which are indicated in Figure 9. The intent is to separate the pre-World War II portion of metropolitan areas from the suburban development that has dominated since that time.

Wendell Cox is principal of Demographia, an international public policy firm located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is a founding senior fellow at the Urban Reform Institute, Houston, a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Winnipeg and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has served as a visiting professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris. His principal interests are economics, poverty alleviation, demographics, urban policy and transport. He is co-author of the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey and author of Demographia World Urban Areas.

Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (1977-1985) and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council, to complete the unexpired term of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (1999-2002). He is author of War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life and Toward More Prosperous Cities: A Framing Essay on Urban Areas, Transport, Planning and the Dimensions of Sustainability.

Wall Street Journal Gets US Commute Times Wrong

Wendell Cox — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 18:27:31 -0500

A March 1, 2023 article entitled As Americans Work From Home, Europeans and Asians Head Back to the Office appeared as the lead in the Wall Street Journal’s “In Today’s Paper” internet newsletter. The article noted:

“Suburban sprawl means many Americans have longer, more tedious commutes plagued by worsening traffic jams—another reason to stay home. While a number of European cities also have long average commutes, New York and Chicago are unmatched, according to mobility-services company Moovit Inc. Public-transit systems in Europe and Asia are often more reliable and less prone to delays, making it easier to get to work.”

I submitted a comment to The Wall Street Journal disputing this paragraph, which was about the 505th on the list.

“On the contrary, US commuting times are generally lower than elsewhere in the world, unlike indicated in this article. See for example: https://www.newgeography.com/content/002217-the-transportation-politics-envy-the-united-states-europe. The article only cites transit commuting times, when in most major urban areas a sizeable share of commuting is by car, which is generally faster than transit. The keys to the shorter commute times in the US are greater use of cars and dispersed employment. Lower densities (pejoratively referred to as sprawl) do not increase commute times, they reduce them (https://fcpp.org/files/1/PS135_Transit_MY15F3.pdf, table 8).

Views from the Left Coast

New Geography — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 18:32:49 -0500

The Western US has long been an innovator in developing the urban form, notably in the creation of suburbanized, multipolar cities. Yet now that model is showing strain, and there’s a fierce debate about how western cities should grow. The panel will explore these issues, from homelessness to high housing prices and the impact of regulation.

With an all star lineup including:
Charles Blain- Urban Reform Institute
Karla López del Río- Community Development Professional
Ryan Streeter- State Farm James Q. Wilson Scholar
Natalie Gochnour- Associate Dean in the David Eccles School of Business
Joel Kotkin- Presidential Fellow in Urban Future, Feudal Future Podcast Host

Watch the video:

This event was moderated by Henrik Cronqvist and panelists discussed how the Western US, a long-time innovator in developing the urban form, is now experiencing issues from homelessness to high housing prices and the impact of regulation.

The California Dream:
From Chapman's Center of Demographics & Policy, Joel Kotkin & Marshall Toplansky co-author the brand new report on restoring The California Dream.

If you haven't downloaded the report, see it here:
Restoring the California Dream

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Support Our Work
The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff.

Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world.

For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, sponsored project analyst for the Office of Research, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu.

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Learn more about Joel's book The Coming of Neo-Feudalism

This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

Are Big Cities Past Their Prime?

Tim Hains — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 19:50:32 -0400

New York. Los Angeles. Boston. San Francisco. Call them America's "superstars." With mega populations, these urban hubs have long reigned as the nation's economic, social, and cultural capitals. But big cities have also been the hardest hit by the pandemic. "Zoom towns" are springing up across the country as professionals leave the city in droves. Even more, the pandemic has brought economic and social inequality into sharp focus for the nation's lawmakers. And some, particularly in large cities that boast the most obvious cases of such inequality, are enacting new progressive policies and laws that seek to combat inequality. For some, this means a new financial structure that makes city life less compelling for those in higher income brackets. Will megacities keep their magnetism in the wake of Covid-19? Or are their best days behind them?

Scholar & Author Joel Kotkin joins Jennifer Hernandez, Attorney & Environmental Advocate, along with Historian & Professor Margaret O'Mara and Ed Glaeser, Economist & Author, to debate the topic.

Watch the video:

Read the rest and see more related videos at Real Clear Politics.

Webinar: The Case for Suburbia

New Geography — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 17:17:42 -0500

When: March 8, 2022 at 12PM (CT)
Where: Join on Zoom
The seeming success of compact cities and the supposed dangers of sprawl to the climate have led to pushback against sprawling, car-dominated cities. Join us as we discuss the environmental case for suburbia.

Feudal Future Podcast: The Truth Behind Affordable Housing

Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 13:20:54 -0500

On this episode of Feudal Future, hosts Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky are joined by Jill Stewart, organizational and political strategist, and Steve PonTell, a leading voice on community development, housing affordability and neighborhood transformation, to discuss the truth behind affordable housing.

Listen on Apple Podcast
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Listen on Spotify
More podcast episodes & show notes at JoelKotkin.com

Watch the Video

Join the Beyond Feudalism Facebook group.
Learn about Joel's book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism.

About our guests:

Jill Stewart was the Managing Editor at LA Weekly and laweekly.com. At LA Weekly, she oversaw a team of print and digital journalists who pursue the newspaper's brand of digital hyper-localism and analytical, print journalism. She also oversaw the newspaper's video team and video productions.

Steve PonTell is the Chief Executive Officer and President of National CORE. In 1996, Steve founded the La Jolla Institute, a California-based nonprofit think tank that advances a better understanding of the critical elements necessary for both communities and corporations to achieve sustainable economic competitiveness. He is a nationally recognized authority on community development and creating forward-thinking organizations to maximize evolving market environments. Steve has a Bachelor of Science from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in City and Regional Planning and an EMBA from Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Business.

About the hosts:

Joel Kotkin is the Roger Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University, Executive Director of the Urban Reform Institute, and an internationally-recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. His most recent book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism is now available for order.

Marshall Toplansky is a widely published and award-winning marketing professional and successful entrepreneur. He co-founded KPMG’s data & analytics center of excellence and now teaches and consults corporations on their analytics strategies.

PwC to Employees: Work for Us, Live Anywhere

Wendell Cox — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 11:21:37 -0400

According to the The Wall Street Journal, “The accounting and consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP says most of its U.S. employees can now live anywhere in the country, in the latest sign that the pandemic is upending traditional working arrangements in a variety of white-collar roles. The article, by Chip Cutter cites similar development among other major companies. For example, Facebook is expanding eligibility for remote work to “all levels of the company.” Those employees not able to obtain permission to work remotely “would be expected to come into the office, at a minimum, 50% of the time.” This means that employees will be able to work remotely up to a maximum of 50% of the time, a practice virtually unheard of among major companies before the pandemic.

The article also references a Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company survey finding that only 41% of pandemic remote workers “looked forward to returning to the office.” A hybrid approach, working both in the office and remotely, was favored by 29%. Ten percent of workers were not comfortable returning to the office “in any capacity.” This is similar to a research by Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis to the effect that many employees will resist returning to the office, out of a “residual fear of proximity” (infection).