the California dream used to include affordable housing

Is the California Dream Finished?

by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky — Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers should stop trying to sell the myth of the California dream. The biggest drivers of California’s poverty and staggering inequality are low-wage jobs and extraordinarily high housing costs. But it’s not too late to change course...
Feudal Future Podcast, hosted by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky

Environmental Dogma & Destruction: How California’s Climate Policies Hurt the Middle Class

In the fourth episode of the Feudal Future podcast, hosts Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky interview Jennifer Hernandez, a partner with Holland & Knight Law Firm in its California offices. Her firm is one of the most prominent in the world of environmental regulations, including California environmental law.

Virtual Town Hall: California Feudalism – Addressing California’s Inequality Crisis

Join a presentation on Kotkin and Toplanksky's research brief —California Feudalism: A Strategy to Restore California's Middle Class— discussing California's inequality crisis and how to restore our state’s dream.

Houston Most Affordable High-Growth Metro

by Tory Gattis — Houston is the most affordable high-growth metro, with rents more affordable than Dallas, Austin or even San Antonio. Other affordable metros are slow-growth to stagnant or declining.
Feudal Future Podcast, hosted by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky

Telework, Telehealth & Real Estate After the Pandemic with Dan Young

In the second episode of the Feudal Future podcast, Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky talk with guest Dan Young about his vision of telework and telehealth post-pandemic.
Protestors set fire to Minneapolis Police 3rd PrecinctPublic Domain

Pandemics and Pandemonium

by Joel Kotkin — The rage ignited by the death of George Floyd is symptomatic of a profound sense of alienation among millions of poor, working class urbanites. The already diminished prospects facing many workers have only been worsened by the unforeseen onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policies devised to combat it.
The Gold Line in Los Angeles

The Virus’s Uneven Path

by Charles Blain and Joel Kotkin — In this miserable COVID-19 spring, it’s tempting for remote workers to vent our frustrations with being hemmed in, forced to stare at screens while unable to do much else other than walk around the block or go to Costco. Yet the pain felt by the teleworking middle class is dwarfed by that of working-class Americans.
Feudal Future Podcast, hosted by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky

Class Division, Common Sense, and Preserving Opportunity for the Global Middle Class

On the first episode of the Feudal Future podcast, Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky break down what it means to live in a feudal society, why we're headed towards one, and what we can do to start reversing the trends.

2020 Standard of Living Index

Urban Reform Institute has developed the Standard of Living Index to facilitate comparisons between metropolitan areas. The Index combines a cost of living index with median household incomes in the 107 metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 residents.
Sawmills in Shelton, WashingtonPublic Domain

Domestic Migration to Dispersion Accelerates (Even Before COVID)

by Wendell Cox — In what could turn out to be a “dry run” for the post-COVID19 era, net domestic migration has strongly shifted away from the larger metropolitan areas, to smaller areas.