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South Africa's (lack of) Progress in Numbers
On May 29th, 2024, South Africa will have its 6th democratic election, commemorating 30 years since the end of Apartheid.This article aims to quantify South Africa's progress from 1994 to 2024. The...
View ArticleFaith and the City
The streets of the South Bronx testify to the decay that has afflicted parts of modern American cities. In some ways, they resemble those of Mumbai more than those of gentrified Manhattan. Men lie...
View ArticleTransit $60 Million in the Hole? Build a Monorail!
In case anyone believes that transit advocates haven’t completely lost their grip on reality, take a look at Memphis. The new CEO of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has “discovered” a $60...
View ArticleProgressive Biden is a Threat to His Own Party
At a time when the Republican Party seems united around Donald Trump and his MAGA vision, the ruling Democrats seem about to tear themselves into pieces. Even with the looming presence of a second...
View ArticleEurope is Not a Museum of Past Success
Is Europe a museum of old success? The question is topical, as Europe's population will peak in two years and is then expected to decline for the rest of the century. During the roughly three decades...
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Demographia International Housing Affordability – 2024 Edition Released
Demographia International Housing Affordability assesses housing affordability in 94 major markets across eight nations (Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and...
View ArticleWhy Johnny Can't Build
We were once a nation of builders—from the toll roads and canals of the early nineteenth century and the railroads of the second half of that busy century, to the construction of power, energy, and...
View ArticleShanghaied
On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on CBS’s “Face The Nation” to promote the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandates and defend the tariffs the administration is...
View ArticleRepublicans are Posing a Growing Threat in Blue States
Calm down, Democrats, Donald Trump will not, as some zealous Maga types fantasise, take New York this election. Nor will he win over New Jersey, although the race may be closer there. California, as we...
View ArticleUniversities And Urban Transformation
I’ve always been intrigued by the role of universities in the growth and development of cities. It’s well known that universities can have an outsized role on smaller towns and cities, helping them to...
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Millions Move Away from Density in Just Three Years
Between 2020 and 2023 (annual population estimates, as of July 1), more than 3.2 million US residents moved from counties with higher urban population densities (number of urban residents divided by...
View ArticleLibertarians Can Stay Relevant by Defending the Middle Class
In the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, libertarian ideas about de-regulation and personal liberty were ascendant. Even if they had little direct power, the free market ideologues had access...
View ArticleVaclav Smil Calls Bullshit on Net Zero
In a 2019 interview, Vaclav Smil described himself as “just an old-fashioned scientist describing the world and the lay of the land as it is. That’s all there is to it. It’s not good enough just to say...
View ArticleAre Progressives to Blame for the Worsening Housing Crisis?
In recent years, housing has emerged as arguably the key driver of class divisions in the Western world. For decades, working- and middle-class people could dream reasonably about buying a house,...
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Thinking in Public
My newsletter happy hour here in Indiana is from 6p-8p in Carmel. The event is sold out, but if you are interested in going please email me and I can probably add you to the list.Becoming Illegible...
View ArticleHow California Became a Warning to the Wordl
For generations, California has led the world in creating cutting-edge ideas and opportunities for newcomers. As actor-turned-governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger once said:‘We are the modern...
View ArticleEnvisioning Rust Belt Success
My Defining Rust Belt Urbanism piece three weeks ago, in which I discuss the themes of what would drive Midwest urban rebirth, prompted a great question.Bloomberg Opinion columnist, CSY subscriber and...
View ArticleThe Green Road to Tyranny
In all the hysteria about the threat to democracy connected to the bombast of Donald Trump, an arguably greater long-term threat is mounting, though all but ignored, from the well-funded green...
View ArticleThe Demographic Dilemma: How Urban Planning is Deepening Australia’s Social...
For over two decades, urban planning’s preoccupation with urban form above all else, has diminished its ability to resolve the growing social and economic divide occurring across the nation.A glaring...
View ArticleThe Media's Great Awokening is Alienating the Masses
When I was a cub reporter working at the Washington Post a half-century ago, being a journalist was first and foremost a craft. I once tried to slip my opinion into an article, but my editor wrote on...
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