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Urban Reform Institute is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization
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drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens.
LOOKING BACK: THE IDEAL COMMUNIST CITY
in Demographics, Economics, Education, Housing, Suburbs/by Mike Newby Alicia Kurimska Over time, suburbs have had many enemies, but perhaps none were more able to impose their version than the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In its bid to remake a Russia of backward villages and provincial towns, the Soviets favored big cities – the bigger the better – and policies that […]
Cities Where African-Americans Do Best Economically
in Demographics, Economics, Education, Housing, Urban Issues/by Mike Newby Joel Kotkin 01/16/2015 The U.S. may have its first black president, but these have not been the best of times for African-Americans. Recent shootings of unarmed black teenagers and the murder of two New York City police officers have inflamed racial tensions. A Bloomberg poll in December found that 53% of respondents believed that […]
THE INEVITABILITY OF TRADEOFFS, OR UNDERSTANDING NEW ENGLAND’S SKY HIGH ENERGY COSTS
in Economics, Education, Planning/by Mike Newby Aaron M. Renn 01/15/2015 People advance two main sorts of arguments in favor of things for which they advocate: the moral argument (it’s the right thing to do) and the utilitarian one (it will make us better off). As it happens, in practice most people tend to implicitly suggest there’s a 100% overlap between […]
AN ECONOMIC WIN-WIN FOR CALIFORNIA – LOWER THE COST OF LIVING
in Demographics, Economics, Housing, Planning, Suburbs, Urban Issues/by Mike Newby Ed Ring 01/14/2015 A frequent and entirely valid point made by representatives of public sector unions is that their membership, government workers, need to be able to afford to live in the cities and communities they serve. The problem with that argument, however, is that nobody can afford to live
EVEN AFTER THE HOUSING BUST, AMERICANS STILL LOVE THE SUBURBS
in Demographics, Housing, Suburbs, Urban Issues/by Mike Newby Jed Kolko 10/11/2012… For decades, Americans have chosen to live in suburbs rather than in cities. Suburban growth has outpaced urban growth, and many big cities have even lost population. But in recent years, some experts have said it’s time for cities to make a comeback. Why? Urban crime rates have fallen; many baby boomers want […]
AMERICA’S NEWEST HIPSTER HOT SPOT: THE SUBURBS?
in Demographics, Suburbs, Urban Issues/by Mike Newby Joel Kotkin 10/09/2014… It’s an idea echoed everywhere from “Friends” to “Girls”: Young people want to live in cities. And, we’re told, a lot of them (at least the cool ones) do. It’s a common assumption. But it’s also wrong. Between 2010 and 2013, the number of 20- to 29-year-olds in America grew by 4 percent. But the number […]
POVERTY AND GROWTH: RETRO-URBANISTS CLING TO THE MYTH OF SUBURBAN DECLINE
in Demographics, Economics, Education, Suburbs/by Mike Newby Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox In the wake of the post-2008 housing bust, suburbia has become associated with many of the same ills long associated with cities, as our urban-based press corps and cultural elite cheerfully sneer at each new sign of decline. This conceit was revealed most recently in a a studyreleased Monday by the […]
DON’T BOOST CITIES BY BASHING THE ‘BURBS
in Housing, Planning, Suburbs/by Mike Newby Joel Kotkin There is nothing like a trip to Washington, D.C., to show how out of touch America’s ruling classes have become. I was in the nation’s capital to appear on a panel for a Politico event that – well after I agreed to come – was titled “Booming Cities, Busting Suburbs.” The notion of […]
RALEIGH: SUBURBANIZING THE CITY AND SUBURBS
in Housing, Planning, Small Cities, Suburbs/by Mike Newby Wendell Cox 03/02/2011… New 2010 Census results indicate that the Raleigh metropolitan area (Raleigh-Cary) grew 42 percent from 2000 to 2010. This growth rate is projected to be the highest of any metropolitan area in the nation for the 2000 to 2010 period. The historical core municipality of Raleigh grew strongly, from 288,000 to 404,000, a […]
SEVEN YEARS AGO, WALL STREET WAS THE VILLAIN. NOW IT GETS TO CALL THE SHOTS
in Economics/by Mike Newby Joel Kotkin The recent passage by Congress of new legislation favourable to loosening controls on risky Wall Street trading is just the most recent example of the consolidation of plutocratic power in Washington. The new rules, written largely by Citibank lobbyists and embraced by the Obama administration, allow large banks to continue using depositors’ money for high-risk […]