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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.
Mass Transit Expansion Goes Off The Rails In Many U.S. Cities
in Planning, Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin — Journalists in older cities like New York, Boston or San Francisco may see the role of rail transit as critical to a functioning modern city. Outside of a handful of cities, rail transit…
What Price Urban Density?
in Housing, Planning, Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Fanis Grammenos — We regularly hear the argument that living in a compact city is more affordable than living in one that is more spread out. But what does the data actually show about the cost of housing in compact cities, and the cost of transport in these dense places?
America’s Housing Crisis
in Housing, Reports/by Joseph BecseyCollaboration by: Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox, Michael Lind, Morley Winograd, Anne Snyder, Tim Cisneros, & Rick Harrison Read the Report (PDF) 8.7MB
“America’s Housing Crisis” Conference
in Event, Housing/by Joseph BecseyThe Center for Opportunity Urbanism (COU) “America’s Housing Crisis” Conference February 19th, 2016, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Houston Omni Hotels & Resorts Four Riverway
Serfs up with California’s new feudalism
in Demographics, Economics/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin… Is California the most conservative state? Now that I have your attention, just how would California qualify as a beacon of conservatism? It depends how you define the term. Since the rise of Ronald Reagan, most conservatives have defined themselves by pledging loyalty to market capitalism, supporting national defense and defending sometimes […]
Policing with Velvet Gloves
in Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Anne Snyder “We’ve got a lady that’s cutting herself with a knife right now.” Officer Ernie Stevens looks at the laptop that’s blinking with this shift’s first call. His partner in the driver’s seat, Officer Joe Smarro, punches the address into the GPS. “Hold her down until we get there. Then we’ll take over […]
America’s Next Boom Towns
in Demographics, Economics, Housing, Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin and Mark Schill — Which cities have the best chance to prosper in the coming decade? The question is a complex one, and as the economy changes, so, too, will the best-positioned cities.
The End of Localism
in Economics/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin… This could be how our experiment with grassroots democracy finally ends. World leaders—the super-rich, their pet nonprofits, their media boosters, and their allies in the global apparat—gather in Paris to hammer out a deal to transform the planet, and our lives. No one asks much about what the states and the communities, […]
Where American Families are Moving
in Demographics, Education, Housing/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin — Much is made, and rightfully so, about the future trends of America’s demographics, notably the rise of racial minorities and singles as a growing part of our population. Yet far less attention is paid to a factor…
Urban Residents aren’t Abandoning Buses; Buses are Abandoning Them
in Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Daniel Hertz “Pity the poor city bus,” writes Jacob Anbinder in an interesting essay at The Century Foundation’s website. Anbinder brings some of his own data to a finding that’s been bouncing around the web for a while: that even as American subways and light rail systems experience a renaissance across the country, bus ridership has been […]