Building the New America: Report on trends shaping the migration of people and jobs

Report: Building the New America

How do we build a new urban model for America — one that is better aligned with the aspirations of most Americans? This newly released report examines the housing trends that are driving today's migration of people and jobs.
London auction of Lehman BrothersJorge Royan

Ten years After Lehman Collapsed, We’re Still Screwed

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — The collapse of Lehman Brothers 10 years ago today began the financial crisis that crippled and even killed for some the American dream as we had known it; middle-income homeowners did not see their wealth restored when the economy turned around.
California Exodus

A Generation Plans an Exodus from California

by Joel Kotkin — California is the great role model for America, particularly if you read the Eastern press. Yet few boosters have yet to confront the fact that the state is continuing to hemorrhage people at a higher rate
Charlotte, NC area

What is Middle-Income Housing Affordability?

by Wendell Cox — Few local or metropolitan issues receive more attention than housing affordability. This article provides a perspective on housing affordability, which is the relationship between housing costs and income.
Urban Center, downtown Toronto

Housing Affordability From Vancouver to Sydney to Toronto: Time to Do What Works

by Wendell Cox — A healthy market has a balance between supply and demand. In many cities, the demand for houses far outstrips the supply. Yet, cities have studiously avoided the obvious supply side policy that could restore housing affordability.
Classic ranch style suburban house

Pervasive Suburbanization: The 2017 Data

by Wendell Cox — The most recent Census Bureau population estimates have made it clear that migration to the suburbs and away from urban cores has accelerated dramatically since the early years of the Great Recession.
Aerial photo of California suburbs

Poverty is Worse Than Sprawl: California’s Housing Affordability Crisis

by Wendell Cox – Rent control supporters in California recently announced that they have enough signatures to qualify a state proposition to remove limitations on municipalities to control rents. Their purpose is to improve housing affordability in the nation’s most unaffordable state.
Polk County Courthouse at night

The Midwest is Booming – Just Not Where You Think

by Joel Kotkin — The Midwest is booming, but not where you might think. Kansas City, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Grand Rapids, and Des Moines are the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest—lapping bigger hubs like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and even Chicago that are still suffering from stagnant economies and slow or even negative population growth.
Suburb of Des Moines

Suburbs Could End Up On The Cutting Edge of Urban Change

by Joel Kotkin — Overwhelmingly, suburbs are where most growth is happening. Since 2010 suburbs and exurbs have produced roughly 80 percent of all new jobs. Even tech growth is shifting...

Landless Americans Are the New Serf Class

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — For the better part of the past century, the American dream was defined, in large part, by that “universal aspiration” to own a home. As housing prices continue to outstrip household income, that’s changing as more and more younger Americans are ending up landless, and not by choice.
Los Angeles Central Business District, by Doc Searles

California’s Middle Class is in Decline Despite State’s Immense Wealth

by Amita Sharma — The California Dream of two or three generations ago was, `I’m going to move from a place that’s cold and flat to a place where there’s lots of opportunity,’” said Joel Kotkin, a presidential fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University.