Urban Issues

Indianapolis was an unlikely candidate to emerge as a midwestern demographic and economic leader. It is an artificially created city, chosen by fiat as a centrally located capital for the state of Indiana.  read more »

Tune out the noise of various tenant-landlord tiffs in our pandemic-altered world and consider this fundamental question that carries actual signal from—of all places—the Broadway stage: What is the purpose of rent control?  read more »

For decades, Canadians moved to the larger cities (census metropolitan areas, or CMAs) with their economic opportunities.  read more »

In September 1977, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company announced the first major shutdown in the American steel industry. It was closing its largest mill, the Campbell Works, displacing over 10,000 workers.  read more »

Los Angeles has been restored to the position of densest major urban area (over 1,000,000 population) in the nation, according to Census Bureau data (complete file).  read more »

“From the Beginning, California promised much. While yet barely a name on the map, it entered American awareness as a symbol of renewal. It was a final frontier: of geography and of expectation.”
— Kevin Starr, “Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915” (1973)  read more »

The urban future in the coming decades will be largely an African one. The continent is now home to 12 of the world's largest cities and four megacities  read more »

I was disappointed to read in the South China Morning Post that the legendary Kowloon-Canton Railway train from Hung Hom Station in Kowloon (Hong Kong) to Guangzhou East Station would not be restored following its pandemic suspension. The train made the 130 kilometer (80 mile) trip in about 1:40.  read more »

China represents the cutting edge of 21st century urbanism. Its successes and failures will shape global perceptions of city life, not only in that country but around the world.  read more »

As COVID-19 begins to wane and become endemic, the question for policymakers, theorists, and Americans at large is: What is in store for our nation's big cities?  read more »