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Rise of the Nation-States
In this highly polarized political environment, states and localities, are ever more taking on the character of separate countries. Washingtonās gridlock is increasingly matched by decisive, often āgo...
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North By Midwest: Minneapolis-St. Paul as the Capital of the North
In November, I joined an overflow crowd at the Walker Arts Center to hear a panel discussion entitledĀ Midwest? The Past, Present, and Future of Minnesotaās Identity.Ā The discussion stemmed from common...
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California's Social Priorities, A New Report
This is the introduction to a new report, Californiaās Social Priorties, from Chapman Universityās Center for Demographics and Policy. The report is authored by David Friedman and Jennifer Hernandez....
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The New, Improved? Rust Belt
There is no longer a Rust Belt. It melted into air. The decline of manufacturing, the vacancy of the immense, industrial structures that once defined the productive capacities and vibrant lives of so...
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Life is Good in St. Louis
The headline line in the Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch asked "Are St. Louis Area's Home Prices too Low?ā This is could not possibly have appeared describing any major metropolitan area of Australia,...
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Two Sides of the Same Coin: Decline and Gentrification
Recently I attended a presentation at Mission Dolores Church sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle called āA Changing Missionā. The discussion was based on a newspaper article and associated short...
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As Nonwhites Grow Their Majority in Southern California, How Can they Find...
California teachers, politicians and media types like to extoll the benefits of ethnic diversity. Certainly, the stateās racial makeup has changed markedly since 1970, with the white non-Hispanic...
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Minneapolis-St. Paul: Capital of the New North?
Thereās been a lot of discussion in Minneapolis-St. Paul about whether they should try to dissociate themselves from the Midwest by rebranding themselves as the Capital of the North.This immediately...
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Behind the Driving Increase
The Federal Highway Administration reported that driving increased 1.7 percent between 2013 and 2014 in the United States. This compares to virtually no increase over the period from 2004 to 2013. The...
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The Evolving Geography of Asian America: Suburbs Are New High-Tech Chinatowns
In the coming decades, no ethnic group may have more of an economic impact on the local level in the U.S. than Asian-Americans. AsiaĀ is now the largest source of legal immigrants to the U.S.,...
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Inside the Bubble
I was recently asked by a neighbor to write a blog post about greed in the super heated economic bubble here in San Francisco. I told her I think the problems that vex her are more complicated than...
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Demography & Destiny: America's Youngest Community
The village of Kiryas Joel is a perfect illustration of how demographic differences can play out spatially. An enclave of ultra-orthodox Satmar Hasidic Jews tucked in the woods of Orange County, about...
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Singapore After Lee Kuan Yew: Future Is Uncertain For The Utilitarian...
In this age of political Lilliputians, we must acknowledge the passing of giants. Although he ran only a small city-state, Lee Kuan Yew, along with late Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping, ranks among...
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How the California Dream Became a Nightmare
Important attention has been drawn to the shameful condition of middle income housing affordability in California. The state that had earlier earned its own "California Dream" label now limits the...
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Where We Live: The Case for Suburban Renewal
The advent of Australian āurban renewalā in the 1990s has been such a blistering policy success that itās now arguably well out of proportion to the realities of need based on where people actually...
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California Should Make Regular People More of a Priority
California in 1970 was the American Dream writ large. Its economy was diversified, from aerospace and tech to agriculture, construction and manufacturing, and allowed for millions to achieve a level of...
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Still Moving to Texas: The 2014 Metropolitan Population Estimates
Texas continues to dominate major metropolitan area growth. Among the 53 major metropolitan areas (with more than 1 million population), Texas cities occupied three of five top positions in population...
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Can Singapore Thrive After Lee Kuan Yew?
On Sunday, Singapore cremates its greatest leader, the late Lee Kuan Yew, architect of its good fortunes. Yet the flames also could extinguish the era of relentless social and economic progress that...
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The House of the Future Will be Solid-State
Housing will take a great leap forward when the house becomes married to the concept of solid-state. This revolution will begin when solid-state ā i.e., no moving parts ā becomes meshed into notion of...
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Big Box Urbanism
Iām ambivalent about big box stores. I occasionally shop at places like Walmart, Costco, and Target just like most people. I buy various packaged goods in bulk from these mega retailers to take...
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