Urban transit has steeply declined post-pandemic

The Era of Urban Supremacy is Over

Wendell Cox — a founding fellow at the Urban Reform Institute and a principal of Demographia, an international public policy firm — pointed out that the pandemic and the accompanying surge in remote work have wreaked havoc on urban transit systems.
Live Speaker Panel: Views from The Left Coast

Views from The Left Coast

The Western US has long been an innovator in developing the urban form, notably in the creation of suburbanized, multipolar cities. Yet now that model is showing strain, and there’s a fierce debate about how western cities should grow.
Second Dwelling Units may help ease housing unaffordability in urban areas, but are prohibited by deed restrictions in many cities.

Why Houston is Better with TIRZs, and Minimal Zoning Restrictions

by Tory Gattis — Houston's TIRZs (tax-increment reinvestment zones) may provide more opportunity for middle and working class families to find affordable housing than typical urban zoning practices.
Suburbia in the city of Chandler

Why Suburbia Will Decide the Future

by Joel Kotkin — As the U.S. population increasingly moves to suburbia, these shifts in population are rewriting the present and future political map.
Los Colimas area and exurbs beyond Irving, Texas

Ultimate Agglomeration Diseconomy: The Standard of Living

Wendell Cox — It is hard to imagine a more destructive agglomeration effect than reducing the standard of living. Yet this is what the loss of housing affordability does.
Increased dispersion as people move from densely populated urban cores, to smaller communitiesWendell Cox, used with permission

Census 2021 Estimates: Increased Dispersion

by Wendell Cox — Increased dispersion began before COVID, but accelerated in 2021 with what the Census Bureau characterized as “a shift from larger, more populous counties to medium and smaller ones.”
The Case for Suburbia

“Drivable Urban” Houston and the Case for Suburbia

by Tory Gattis — "Drivable urban" Houston has a lower cost of living than most major metros across the U.S., making a persuasive case for suburbia.
Welcome to Texas road sign

Texans don’t leave, checklist for opportunity cities, exurbia rising

by Tory Gattis — Lessons from history and from the success stories of the present point to clear priorities for cities to become today’s opportunity cities.
Dilworth, a suburb of Charlotte, NC

Sprawl is Good — The Environmental Case for Suburbia

by Tory Gattis — 'Sprawl is Good — The Environmental Case for Suburbia' makes a comprehensive case for why and how sprawl can be pro-environment and address climate change.
Quote from Tory Gattis about Texas MUDs

The URI Next American Cities Report, Texas MUDs as a Model

This newly released report from Urban Reform Institute examines the places that offer opportunity for a revitalized American Dream for more citizens.