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.

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.

Nobody Wants to Leave Houston!

Nobody wants to leave Houston!  Well, I might be exaggerating a bit, but this CityLab piece shows Houston as the 9th most popular city for inbound apartment searches, but it doesn't even make the top 20 for outbound apartment searches.
METRO bus, Houston transit

METRO Board Considering Elimination of Transit Fares

Houston's METRO board is considering of doing away with transit fares, making buses and trains free for everyone. KPRC interviews Tory Gattis as they report on the story.

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.
Roy Luck

Why METRO Should Eliminate Transit Fares

by Tory Gattis — The big item this week is my mention in this Chronicle article for getting Metro to reconsider spending $100 million on new fare-collection equipment while they're still looking at going completely fareless
Aerial view of skyscrapers

Mayors Won’t Rule the World

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.
Houston Downtown

Should You Vote for MetroNext 2040?

Back in January, I wrote an op-ed in the Chronicle giving MetroNext's…
homeless in LALaurie Avocado

The Unintended Consequence of the Green Movement is More Homeless

by Ronald Stein — The growing populations of homeless and families falling below the poverty line is obvious proof that California plans to go green, at any cost.
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.
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...