What will be the Future of Cities?

The Future of Cities

Whatever the future holds for humanity, it is likely to take place in an urban context. Yet, there are many, and sometimes divergent, urban futures. This book is being published as a series, with permission of the American Enterprise Institute. Please return weekly to read each chapter as it is published.
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.
COVID-19 Map of USA

One Nation, Under Lockdown, Divided by Pandemic

by Joel Kotkin — The last thing this divided Republic needs is more polarization, but America is now further divided by pandemic, in large part by the different experiences of various localities and in how economies function from region to region.
Americans Not Deeply DividedMike Scheid

Americans Are Not As Divided About the Pandemic As It May Seem

by Samuel J. Abrams — Data from the Pew Research Center collected during the epidemic reveals that Americans are indeed polarized around Trump and his behavior but are not deeply divided when it comes to real, concrete safety measures to mitigate the virus and protect Americans.
View of NYC midtown and Queens, a densely populated area

Subways Seeded the NYC Epidemic: MIT Economist

by Wendell Cox — According to an MIT economist, continued high ridership on MTA subways and the rapid surge in infections during the first two weeks of March at best supports the hypothesis that the subways played a role.
Aerial view of Washington, D.C.

The Pandemic and the Strengths of Our Networked Government

by Aaron M. Renn — America's system of federalism provides plenty of opportunity for fighting among various levels of government. But as the coronavirus response is showing, this system also has underappreciated strengths that we should take care not to overlook.
Farm workers are shown harvesting crops

Who Will Prosper After the Plague?

by Joel Kotkin — Who will prosper after the plague? By disrupting smaller grassroots businesses while expanding the power of technologies used in enforcement, coronavirus could further empower both tech oligarchs and the “expert” class.
Democratic Presidential Debate, Biden and Sanders

Oligarchy and Pestilence

by Joel Kotkin — It’s January 21, 2021 and President Biden’s first full day in the White House. Surrounded by cheering key Democratic Party constituencies and financial backers, the new president proclaims a “climate emergency” – placing essentially the entire economy under Washington’s control.
Illustration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19

The Coronavirus is Changing the Future of Home, Work, and Life

The COVID-19 pandemic will be shaping how we live, work and learn about the world long after the last lockdown ends and toilet paper hoarding is done, accelerating shifts that were already underway including the dispersion of population out of the nation’s densest urban areas and the long-standing trend away from mass transit and office concentration towards flatter and often home-based employment.
Photo of Brooklyn Bridge

COVID-19: A Call to Connect

by Charlie Stephens — With COVID-19 we are going through something practically no living soul has ever experienced. It may be forging new realities, and could place us at the edge of a big change —politically, economically, culturally, and spiritually. What this will look like nobody really knows...
Houston traffic

Stop Bagby Closure, Oil Import Tariffs, MaX Lanes, Covid-19 vs Density vs Heat

Want to stop closure of the Bagby and Brazos entrance/exit to/from the 59 Spur? There's now a opposition website to the closure where you can sign the petition.