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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.
Kotkin, Cox: Light rail in the Sun Belt is a poor fit
in Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox There is an effective lobby for building light rail, including in cities such as Houston. But why build light rail? To reduce car use? To improve mobility for low-income citizens? This certainly seems a worthwhile objective, with the thousands of core-city, low-income residents whose transit service cannot get them […]
The Cities Americans Are Thronging To And Fleeing
in Demographics/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox Cities get ranked in numerous ways — by income, hipness, tech-savviness and livability — but there may be nothing more revealing about the shifting fortunes of our largest metropolitan areas than patterns of domestic migration.
It’s becoming springtime for dictators
in Economics, Urban Issues/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin In a rare burst of independence and self-interest, the California Legislature, led by largely Latino and Inland Democrats, last month defeated Gov. Jerry Brown’s attempt to cut gasoline use in the state by 50 percent by 2030. These political leaders, backed by the leftovers of the once-powerful oil industry, scored points by […]
The way to kill a complex city is to chase out all the poor people – and their food
in Economics/by Joseph BecseyBy Samantha Gillison When greed makes a place like New York, London or San Francisco unaffordable, the non-wealthy leave, and the city loses the smells and tastes that made it great Once upon a time, as Gore Vidal observed, New York City was a delightful place to live – especially if you were an impoverished […]
The Energy Election
in Economics/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin Blessed by Pope Francis, the drive to wipe out fossil fuels, notes activist Bill McKibben, now has “the wind in its sails.” Setting aside the bizarre alliance of the Roman Catholic Church with secularists such as McKibben, who favor severe limits of family size as an environmental imperative, this is a potentially […]
China’s Planned City Bubble Is About to Pop—and Even You’ll Feel It
in Economics, Housing, Planning/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — U.S. housing planners have long ignored the public’s desire for…
Putting People First
in Demographics, Economics, Reports/by Joseph BecseyBy Wendell Cox An Alternative Perspective with an Evaluation of the NCE Cities “Trillion Dollar” Report Read the Report (PDF)
How California Could Have Avoided Its Epic Water Crisis
in Economics, Planning, Video/by Joseph BecseyBy Alex Manning — California’s water crisis is the disaster everybody saw coming but nobody had the political will to stop: Joel Kotkin discusses the Golden State disaster…
Black Exodus: African-America Children to the Suburbs
in Demographics, Suburbs/by Joseph BecseyBy Wendell Cox — One of the most significant results of the 2010 census was the continuing shift of the African-American population…
Wave of migrants will give Europe an extreme makeover
in Demographics/by Joseph BecseyBy Joel Kotkin The massive, ongoing surge of migrants and refugees into Europe has brought up horrendous scenes of deprivation, along with heartwarming instances of generosity. It has also engendered cruel remembrances of the continent’s darkest hours. But viewed over the long term, this crisis may well be the prelude to changes that could dissipate, […]