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How cities can drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens
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Urban Reform Institute is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization
that exists to promote approaches that enable cities to
drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens.
The Benefits of Homeownership Mean We Should Still Believe In The American Dream
in Housing/by Cullem Clarkby Cullem Clark — In 2004, President George W. Bush announced the aim of promoting a broader “Ownership Society,” in which more Americans could benefit from owning a home, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. “If you own something,” he declared, “you have a vital stake in the future of our country…”
How Much Density is Enough?
in Demographics, Planning, Suburbs, Urban Issues/by Randal O’Tooleby Randal O’Toole — Portland New Urbanist Joe Cortright has rarely seen a high-density development he didn’t like. Most recently, he argues that the reason why most most people live in suburbs is that they are forced to do so by evil zoning rules that prohibit that densities that people actually prefer.
Employment Access in US Metropolitan Areas (2017)
in Economics, Urban Issues/by Wendell Coxby Wendell Cox — Economic growth of metropolitan areas is enhanced by employment access — the greater the number of jobs that the average worker can reach in a particular time, the better the economic performance. Recent advances in data have made it possible to measure the effectiveness of access systems in metro areas.
California Needs a New Economic Model
in Economics, Housing, Urban Issues/by Joel Kotkinby Joel Kotkin — California, epitomizes what economist Thomas Piketty has aptly called “the Brahmin left,” which trades in digits, images and financial transactions. This works well for the top earners, and their offspring, but most Californians are left out of the boom.
California Supports “Foreign” Big Oil
in Economics/by Ronald Steinby Ronald Stein — California is home to the largest crude oil reserves in America, but its choice not to drill for that oil has in-state manufacturers “exporting” billions of dollars annually to foreign countries to import oil to meet energy demands.
Length of Residential Tenure: Metropolitan Areas, Urban Cores, Suburbs & Exurbs
in Demographics/by Wendell Coxby Wendell Cox — America is less mobile than in the past, but U.S. households tend to live longer in their present residences where population growth has been more modest.
California Must Stop Trying to Stomp Out Suburbia
in Housing, Planning, Politics & Policy, Suburbs, Urban Issues/by Joel Kotkinby Joel Kotkin — A suburban housing recovery after the Great Recession has been hampered, in large part, by tough regulations. By 2017, California metros like Los Angeles-Orange and even the Bay Area were producing housing at lower rates than…
Ten years After Lehman Collapsed, We’re Still Screwed
in Economics, Housing/by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Coxby Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — The collapse of Lehman Brothers 10 years ago today began the financial crisis that crippled and even killed for some the American dream as we had known it; middle-income homeowners did not see their wealth restored when the economy turned around.
“Middle America” in America’s Urban Century
in Demographics, Economics, Small Cities/by Jayson Whiteby Jayson White — Many cities, most notably a dozen or two forgotten, flyover cities in middle America are reinvigorating and reinventing themselves in the blink of an eye.
In what is sure to be America’s “urban century” this is one of the most important trends to never hit the headlines.
A Generation Plans an Exodus from California
in Demographics, Economics, Housing, Urban Issues/by Joel Kotkinby Joel Kotkin — California is the great role model for America, particularly if you read the Eastern press. Yet few boosters have yet to confront the fact that the state is continuing to hemorrhage people at a higher rate