Photo credit: Jurvetson

Urban Leaders Should Plan for the Public Transit of the Future

by John S. Niles Self-driving, automated cars are coming. There will be teething pains in many forms: some people will want highly automated vehicles while others will fear them.
Transit Stop Kiosk

Transit Ridership Down 2.3% in 2016

by Randal O'Toole With little fanfare, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released its fourth quarter 2016 ridership report last week. When ridership goes up, the group usually issues a big press release...
Divided Nation

To Reunite America, Liberate Cities to Govern Themselves

by Joel Kotkin and Richard Florida Even setting the dysfunction of our national government, the fact is that no top-down, one-size-fits-all set of policies can address the very different conditions that prevail among communities.
Damaged Road, Inland California

The Other California: a Flyover State Within a State

by Joel Kotkin California may never secede, or divide into different states, but it has effectively split into entities that could not be more different.
Aerial view of Portland, Oregon

Portland Housing Stupidity Grows

by Randal O'Toole Here’s an incredibly stupid idea to deal with Portland’s housing affordability problems: Multnomah County proposes to build tiny houses in people’s backyard.
Biting the Hand that Feeds Us

The Quest for Food Freedom

by Aaron M. Renn Mariza Ruelas currently faces up to two years in jail in California for the crime of selling ceviche through a Facebook food group. Welcome to the mad world of American food regulation.
Street view in Coral Gables

Flight From Urban Cores Accelerates: 2016 Metropolitan Area Estimates

by Wendell Cox The flight from the nation’s major metropolitan area core counties increased 60 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to just-released estimates from the US Census Bureau.
High Speed Rail for Texas?

Taxpayers Need Protection from Dallas-Houston High Speed Rail Bailout? New Report

by Wendell Cox The proposed privately financed high-speed rail line from Houston to Dallas is projected to have a revenue shortfall of $21.5 billion in its first 40 years...
Suburban Planning

Canada’s Urban Areas: Descent from Affordability

by Wendell Cox Canada is a nation of wide open spaces, yet it has high urban area densities recently driven higher by a redefinition of urban area criteria.
Los Angeles traffic

Los Angeles Traffic: Likely To Worsen with Higher Densities

by Wendell Cox The intensity of traffic on Los Angeles freeways is astounding; noticeably worse than most other places in the country. With increasing urban density it is likely to worsen.