View of NYC midtown and Queens, a densely populated area

Early Observations on the Pandemic and Population Density

by Wendell Cox — It is still too early to draw precise conclusions on the extent to which the spread of the COVID-19 is related to urban population density. But there are important recurring themes.
Corner of Canal and Baxter Streets in NYC

After Coronavirus We Need to Rethink Densely Populated Cities

by Joel Kotkin — For the better part of this millennium, the nation’s urban planning punditry has predicted that the future lay with its densest, largest, and most cosmopolitan cities.
Elderly couple in small town, rural America

Coronavirus, Labor and an Aging World

by Ali Modarres — In the last few months, we have gradually realized the dire nature of this global pandemic, and our response has been? Nothing short of the creation of a new world: hopefully not on the ruins of the last. The novel coronavirus is showing us the downside of accelerated mobility, excessive attention to short-term gains, and structural inequities.
High rise office real estate

The Future of Office Space Real Estate Market

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by Marshall Toplansky — Recently, I interviewed 12 CEO’s in California about what aspects of business they expected to change after the coronavirus epidemic passsed. They first cited a coming upheaval in the office space real estate market.

The Coming Age of Dispersion

by Joel Kotkin — As of this writing, the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic remain uncertain. One possible consequence is the end of the megacity era. In its place, we may now witness a new, and necessary, dispersion of population...

Coronavirus and the Future of Living and Working in America

by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky — By late spring, the most severe impacts from coronavirus may fade, but its impact on the rise of dispersed living and working arrangements — were already emerging even before the pandemic emerged.
Studying the wrong cities will lead to repeating their mistakes

Studying the Wrong Cities Will Lead to Repeating Their Mistakes

by Ross Elliott — The junket factor must be the only logical criteria by which various industry “study tours” overseas are planned. How else to explain how entirely inappropriate the choices are? The list of cities identified for “study” by Australian development and planning industry bodies reads like the pages of a glossy weekend travel magazine

Red v. Blue

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — The political and cultural war between red and blue America may not be settled in our lifetimes, but it’s clear which side is gaining ground in economic and demographic terms. In everything from new jobs—including new technology employment—fertility rates, population growth, and migration, it’s the red states that increasingly hold the advantage.
demographics of the "blue marble"

Demographic Undestiny

by Joel Kotkin — Demography becomes destiny, the old adage goes. But many of the most confidently promoted demographic predictions have turned out grossly exaggerated or even dead wrong. In many cases they tend to reflect more the aspirations of pundits and reporters than the actual on-the-ground realities.

California Preening: Golden State on Path to High-Tech Feudalism

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.