New York

In 1912, James Weldon Johnson wrote that New York City is “the most fatally fascinating place in America”. The city, he explained, “sits like a great witch at the gate of the country, showing her alluring white face and hiding her crooked hands and feet under the folds of her wide garments — constantly enticing thousands from far within, and tempting those who come from across the seas to go no farther.”  read more »

Every politician, pundit and other apparatchik should have heard the elderly lady who didn’t even say a word about politics during my encounter with her on the streets of Manhattan.  read more »

According to the New York City police department, subway crime is up 53 percent so far in 2022 compared with 2021. Since ridership grew by 64 percent in that time period, that means that crime rates per rider have actually fallen  read more »

When people ask me, “Exactly what do you consider Flyover Country?” I generally point to the logo of The Flyover Coalition and say: “There!” Because our logo nearly perfectly circumscribes the part of the country that basically is linked economically and psychographically, including Florida, Georgia, West Virginia — even Colorado and Montana.  read more »

In some ways, Hudson County, New Jersey shares characteristics of a New York City borough. This is evident in various urban and transportation indicators and their similarities in urban form.  read more »

Following a recent New Geography column “Toronto Solidifies Highest Density Ranking in North America,” I received comments of disbelief, at the fact that the urban density of the Winnipeg urban area is above that of the New York City urban area.  read more »

Net domestic migration losses spiked perhaps as never before in the pandemic year of 2021 among urban core counties --- the counties that contain the urban cores  read more »

The Census Bureau recently released data on domestic migration that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their findings were heavily covered in the press with headlines such as “Cities Lost Population in 2021” and “The pandemic city exodus revealed: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago lost the most residents.”  read more »

Mayors and urban planners have crucial roles in the management of cities. They must help cities adapt rapidly when confronted with external shocks—the pandemic is only the latest one of these. To be a prudent and efficient janitor is the main task of mayors.  read more »

It’s no surprise that the latest “authoritative” ranking of management acumen at U.S. companies relegates those headquartered in Flyover Country mostly to the bottom of the list. But this list sure is frustrating – and wrong-headed. And its bias matters.  read more »