by Joel Kotkin — “We are the modern equivalent of the ancient city-states of Athens and Sparta….” declared then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. In truth, the Golden State is becoming a semi-feudal kingdom, with the nation’s widest gap between middle and upper incomes—72 percent, compared with the U.S. average of 57 percent—and its highest poverty rate.
by Joel Kotkin — Earlier in this decade, cities—the bigger and denser the better—appeared as the planet’s geographic stars. According to the 2013 book If Mayors Ruled the World, everyone would be better off if state rule were replaced by rule from the most evolved urban areas.
by Joel Kotkin — In our system of government, the public sector is, well, supposed to serve the public. But increasingly the bureaucracies at the state and local level increasingly seek to tell the public how to live, even if the result is to make life worse.
by Joel Kotkin — If there’s anything productive to come from his recent Twitter storm, President Trump’s recent crude attacks on Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings have succeeded in bring necessary attention to the increasingly tragic state of our cities.
If forced to compare an ice cream flavor with suburbia, many would pick vanilla. Yet, as Amanda Kolson Hurley writes in her new book, Radical Suburbs: Experimental Living on the Fringes of the American City, this is just one of many “misinformed clichés” about these peripheral communities.
by Joel Kotkin — Urban revival views are more aspirational, than reflective of reality. Overall, data suggests that, with few exceptions, we are seeing continued movement from our large cities to suburbs and less dense cities.
by Joel Kotkin — The fiasco surrounding Amazon’s recent escape from New York reflects a broader, potentially devastating trend. This new development is being driven by demographic shifts as cities become increasingly polarized with little room for a middle ground between the very rich and the very poor.
by Joel Kotkin — Since the end of the Second World War, middle- and working-class people across the Western world have sought out—and, more often than not, achieved—their aspiration. These usually included a stable income, a home, a family, and the prospect of a comfortable retirement.
by Joel Kotkin — Trends in tech economy job creation are not nearly as favorable to the “superstars” as some urbanists imagine. If one looks at data, a more nuanced picture emerges…
by 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.
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