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.
Photo credit: Hatham Al Shabibi on Unsplash

The End of Aspiration

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.
Merced, California — now part of Bay Area Sprawl

Anti-“Sprawl” Bay Area Leads Expanding Metropolitan Regions

by Wendell Cox — This article examines metropolitan regions based on Office of Budget & Management boundaries. It illustrates that, despite the desires of planners and environmentalists to limit “sprawl”, labor markets continue to expand their footprint, particularly in the most regulated regions such as the Bay Area.
Photograph by D Ramey Logan: Aerial view of Rancho Santa Margarita

Restoring the California Dream, Not Nailing It’s Coffin

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — Virtually everyone, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, is aware of the severity of California’s housing crisis. The bad news is that most proposals floating in Sacramento are likely to do very little to address our housing shortage.
Photo credit: Dllu — Pittsburgh at night

15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2019

by Wendell Cox — The 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey covers 309 metropolitan housing markets (metropolitan areas) in eight countries, rating middle-income housing affordabiliyy.
suburban housing growth

The High Residential Densities of California (and “Wild Wild” Texas)

by Wendell Cox — Despite their reputation for urban sprawl, the metropolitan areas of Texas have comparatively high residential densities, while the Los Angeles urban area is actually 30 percent denser, with much smaller lots than the New York metro area.
2018 Standard of Living Index, Top 20 and Bottom 20

2018 Standard of Living Index

by Wendell Cox — The Center for Urban Opportunity (COU) has developed a measure (the "COU Standard of Living Index") that estimates the purchasing power of real average pay in metropolitan areas compared to that of the average employee who moves to a new residence.
Aerial view of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Highest 2016 Home Ownership Rate in Grand rapids, Los Angeles Last

by Wendell Cox — Home ownership is finally increasing in the United States, following the housing bust.

The Benefits of Homeownership Mean We Should Still Believe In The American Dream

by Cullem Clark — In 2004, President George W. Bush announced the aim of promoting a broader “Ownership Society,” in which more Americans could benefit from owning a home, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. “If you own something,” he declared, “you have a vital stake in the future of our country..."
Gavin Newsom at Web 2.0 Summit

California Needs a New Economic Model

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.
Residential rooftop solar panels

California Must Stop Trying to Stomp Out Suburbia

by Joel Kotkin — A suburban housing recovery after the Great Recession has been hampered, in large part, by tough regulations. By 2017, California metros like Los Angeles-Orange and even the Bay Area were producing housing at lower rates than...