Newgeography.com - Economic, demographic, and political commentary about places

New Panic Over Farmlands

OregonFarm.jpg

The Department of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture has generated new fears about “disappearing farm lands.” The census found that the United States had 22 million (2.8 percent) fewer acres of farm lands in 2022 than in 2017  read more »

California Deficit Soars to $73 Billion

california-deficit-soars.jpg

Incredibly, the Democratic establishment still looks to Gavin Newsom as their answer to Joe Biden. Yet frothy accounts of the California Governor’s record are about as accurate as a Google AI treatment of American history: totally fraudulent.  read more »

NYU in Oklahoma? What a Great Idea

Skyline_Tulsa.jpg

When I heard that New York University (NYU) was creating a new campus not in some global capital but in Oklahoma—the fairly conservative west-south-central region of the United States—I was shocked, but also thrilled.  read more »

Out of Transmission Revisited

power-transmission-out.jpg

The “energy transition” depends on massive expansions of our high-voltage transmission grid. But capacity additions are falling, and per-mile costs and utility product costs are soaring.  read more »

Subjects:

Teachers Unions Have Turned Our Schools into Woke Brainwashing Camps

woke-schools-parents-protest.jpg

You have to be utterly delusional – or a member of a teacher’s union – to think that the US education system isn’t a total disaster. The most recent National Assessments of Educational Progress (NAEP, or “The Nation’s Report Card”) found barely a quarter of students are proficient in reading, geography and American history.  read more »

Subjects:

Hong Kong 2021 Census: The Evolving Urban Form

star-ferry_HK.jpg

According to the 2021 census, Hong Kong grew from a population of 7.337 million in 2016 to 7.413 million. This article describes the population and population densities of Hong Kong and its major areas.  read more »

Why Are Americans Becoming More Stupid?

students-hold-miniature-american-flags-during-the-sackets-d0f3de-1024.jpg

“The empires of the future are the empires of the mind,” said Winston Churchill. And judging by the state of education in America, it seems both of those empires could soon crumble.  read more »

Subjects:

Transit’s Growth, Decline, and Pending Demise

transit-book_CliffsSlater.jpg

Who said the following? “The basic objective of our Nation’s transportation system must be to assure the availability of the fast, safe, and economical transportation services needed in a growing and changing economy.  read more »

Planners Plan

planners-gotta-plan.jpg

It’s in the job title: Planner.

Most government planners — pretty much the transport and housing sectors are what we are discussing today — became planners to meet their personal need to impose order on chaos, to improve society, and, in theory, help everyone even if they need a nudge or two along the way.  read more »

Heavier EVs Tear Up California Roadways But Pay Nothing for Road Maintenance

Heavier-EVs-tearing-up-California-roadways.jpeg

Can it be true that California, in pursuit of reduced emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles, has mandated that heavier EV cars and trucks tear up the state’s roads? Shockingly, the state has no accompanying mandate on those heavier vehicles to contribute funds to the maintenance and repairs of the roads  read more »

Subjects: