A Series of Essays on the Urban Future
The Future of Cities
Over five millennia, through pestilence, war, economic dislocation, and mass migrations, cities have demonstrated their essential resiliency. Yet at the same time, they have many times been transformed—becoming bigger, denser, and then less dense; shifting from having a walking- to a transit-based culture; and then moving on to be auto-dependent and, now, having a new pattern based increasingly on digital commuting.
This book has been published as a series, with permission of the American Enterprise Institute. Below is the book outline and a link to each chapter.
Click or tap a link below to read or download each chapter. (PDFs open in new tab or window)
Conclusion: Urban Futures – Joel Kotkin (new this week)
Joel Kotkin is the author of The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class. He is the Roger Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and Executive Director for Urban Reform Institute. Learn more at joelkotkin.com and follow him on Twitter @joelkotkin.
Read the Series:
Introduction: Welcome to the Urban Future – Joel Kotkin
I. The Big Picture for Global Geography
American Aspiration is Metropolitan – Ryan Streeter
The Urban Future: The Great Dispersion – Wendell Cox
The Future of the Big American City is Not Bright – Samuel J. Abrams
II. The Variety of Urban Experiences
The Future of Chinese Cities – Li Sun
Africa’s Urban Future – Hügo Krüger and Bheki Mahlobo
Recalibrating Expectations: Lessons from Youngstown, Ohio – Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo
The Texas Triangle: An Emerging Metropolitan Model in the Lone Star State – J. H. Cullum Clark
The Evolution of New York City Politics – Harry Siegel
III. The Policy Agenda
Housing Unaffordability: How We Got There and What to Do About It – Tobias Peter and Edward J. Pinto
False Dawn: The Future of Work and Cities After the Illusions of Globalization – Michael Lind
A New Path for Black Urban Voters? – Charles Blain
Utah and Salt Lake City Policy Innovations in Homelessness, Poverty, and Health – Natalie Gochnour