A lot of so-called "movement" conservatives dislike Donald Trump because he isn't conservative in their view. Some of them have sadly concluded that much of their own base is not as well, being much more open to things like protectionist trade policy than in years gone by. Their focus has been on working class voter, but another chunk of the Republican electorate, namely upscale metropolitan Republicans, is also moving away from some traditional conservative positions. These middle to upper middle class Republicans have little interest … [Read more...]
Sun Belt Problems Come to New York City
Surging subway ridership in New York has driven a flurry of press recently, including this piece in the New York Times: Subway ridership in New York is in the midst of a resurgence almost unimaginable in the 1970s and ’80s, when the system was defined by graffiti and crime. Ridership has steadily risen to nearly six million daily riders today from about four million in the 1990s. But the subway infrastructure has not kept pace, and that has left the system with a litany of needs, many of them essential to maintaining current service or … [Read more...]
How Long Before Regionalization Is Rebranded as a Suburban Bailout?
Back in January Strong Towns ran a great piece by Nathaniel Hood called "This isn't an annexation - it's a bailout." It's a short story about a town in Minnesota that's about to annex a small 1960's subdivision that somehow remained in incorporated territory for many years. Basically this subdivision enjoyed low county tax rates for years and now that its infrastructure is shot, it's finally interested in joining up with the adjacent city in order to enjoy some services. Hood correctly characterizes this as a bailout, and I agree … [Read more...]
Why You Should Think Twice Before Building a Rail Transit System
The Washington Metro system was shut down completely for a day this week to allow crews to inspect all of the power cables in the system. They found 26 cables and connectors in need of immediate repair. This is just the latest in a series of safety problems and breakdowns that have plagued the system. Metro has a large unfunded maintenance liability. This doesn't surprise us because we expect American transit systems to have a backlog. The difference is that unlike NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc., which have systems a century old, the … [Read more...]
Chicago Is Winning the Battle for the Executive Headquarters
The corporate headquarters used to be the primary measure of a city's economic clout. Saskia Sassen, while not ignoring headquarters, documented how in the age of globalization, the resurgence of the global city was driven by demand for financial and producer services, not more and bigger HQs. As she pointed out in her seminal book The Global City, "Major cities such as London, New York, and Chicago have been losing top ranked headquarters for at least three decades." Yet despite this they were coming back strong. Back in 2008, I started … [Read more...]
When the Snow Comes Down, New Yorkers Come Out to Play
Much of the eastern US is getting slammed with a blizzard today. But in New York, snow coming down is just yet another reason to get out of the apartment and go play in the park. I went out around 3:00 today and recorded two Periscope videos that you can check out if you want. The first of them is of the cityscape starting at 68th and Columbus, walking south along Columbus and Broadway to Columbus Circle, then into Central Park. The second is a shorter look at people out and about on 72nd St. in Central Park. I had so much fun I was … [Read more...]
Mayor Byron Brown on Buffalo’s “Green Code”, Architecture, Economy, and More
I was privileged to get to record a podcast with Mayor Byron Brown while researching my article on Buffalo for City Journal this spring. Coming after a very tough 2007 Ed Glaeser article in City Journal on the city, it was very gracious of the mayor to agree to talk with me. I want to personally thank and honor him for that. If you do nothing else, listen to the section of the interview about the Buffalo Green Code. This is one of the most important developments ongoing in major American cities right now. Buffalo is completely re-writing … [Read more...]
Mayor Mick Cornett Explains Oklahoma City’s Transformation
In addition to my article about Oklahoma City's transformation, I also sat down with Mayor Mick Cornett to have him describe it in his own words. If the audio embed doesn't display for you, click over to listen on Soundcloud. We covered a number of topics during the talk, including. 0:00 - Introduction and the effect of the federal building bombing 4:20 - The Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) program 5:33 - Is Oklahoma City's economy just oil and gas? 7:32 - Securing water supplies for a city in an arid region 8:51 - OKC has had … [Read more...]
How Urban Planning Made Motown Records Possible
I'm reading Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story by David Maraniss, a book I plan to review for City Journal. But I want to highlight something briefly that really caught my eye about Motown Records. It's no secret Detroit punches above its weight in musical influence, and the Motown sound was clearly a big part of that. Maraniss asks "Why Detroit? What gave this city its unmatched creative melody?" He lays out his theory of the case with regards to Motown Records. The family piano's role in the music that flowed out of the … [Read more...]
A Riverfront Revelation in Chicago
The image we have of Chicago in our minds is heavily shaped by its lakefront. The importance of the lakefront as public space was recognized long ago when the city built its magnificent lakefront park system, choosing to largely turn its back on industrializing the lake. Chicago was heavily industrialized, however, But the main "harbors" along which this was done were the Chicago and Calumet Rivers. The Chicago River heavily shaped the history of the city and do this day defines the boundaries of the Loop business district. Yet the city … [Read more...]
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