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When it Comes to Technology Privacy, the Eyes Have It
Back when integrated circuits were safely ensconced in missiles, spacecraft and machine tools, information technology could take us to the moon or build better cars, but – as long as they didn’t blow...
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America's Mid-Sized Metropolitan Areas
The United States has 53 mid-sized metropolitan areas, with populations from 500,000 to 1 million. These metropolitan areas together had a population of nearly 38 million in 2014, according to the most...
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Building a New California
The Golden State has historically led the United States and the world in technology, quality of life, social innovation, entertainment, and public policy. But in recent decades its lead has ebbed. The...
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Silicon Valley: Jelly in the Jam
My last post was about how Silicon Valley is evolving into an urban form that’s not quite leafy and open enough to be a suburb anymore, but not really vibrant and compact enough to be a proper city...
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America’s Cities Mirror Baltimore’s Woes
The rioting that swept Baltimore the past few days, sadly, was no exception, but part of a bigger trend in some of our core cities towards social and economic collapse. Rather than enjoying the much...
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A Fix for California Water Policy
Critics of California’s current water policy advocate more infrastructure spending on things like dams, canals, and desalination plants. Many would also curtail water releases for the benefit of fish...
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Some Progressives Grow Disillusioned with Democracy
Left-leaning authors often maintain that conservatives “hate democracy,” and, historically, this is somewhat true. “The political Right,” maintains the progressive economist and columnist Paul Krugman,...
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Driving Farther to Qualify in Portland
Portland has been among the world leaders in urban containment policy. And, as would be predicted by basic economics, Portland has also suffered from serious housing cost escalation, as its median...
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More Privatization Pain For the Public in North Carolina
Privatization done right can be a great boon. Done poorly, it can harm the public for decades. We see another example of the latter ongoing in North Carolina (h/t @mihirpshah). The Charlotte Observer...
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Land Use Regulations and “Social Engineering”
All forms of land use regulation are explicitly “social engineering”. Full stop. Let’s acknowledge that reality as we move forward. The question is never whether we’ll be engaging in manipulating...
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How California Became a Blue-State Role Model
California, once disdained as zany, insubstantial and politically unreliable, has now become a favorite of the blue state crew. From culture and technology to politics, the Golden State is getting all...
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How Cities Can Show Resilience
Resilient: Strong. Healthy. Successful again. But how does a city become resilient? Here are five ways that city leaders can help:Designing for resilience requires systems thinking: Cities are complex,...
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Dispersion and Concentration in Metropolitan Employment
The just released County Business Patterns indicates a general trend of continued employment dispersion to the newer suburbs (principally the outer suburbs) and exurbs but also greater concentration in...
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California Environmental Quality Act, Greenhouse Gas Regulation and Climate...
This is the introduction to a new report, California’s Social Priorties, from Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy. The report is authored by David Friedman and Jennifer Hernandez....
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Suburban Migration In Baltimore
One unique aspect of Baltimore is that it is a so-called “independent city” that is not part of any county. Because of this, migration data from the IRS allows us to look specifically at the city of...
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21st Century California Careers
California is undergoing profound change. Most strikingly, people are leaving the Golden State, which was once the preferred destination of migrants worldwide. California’s domestic migration has...
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The Uncelebrated Places Where America's Farm Economy Is Thriving
We consume their products every day but economists give them little attention, and perhaps not enough respect. Yet America’s agriculture sector is not only the country’s oldest economic pillar but...
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California in 2060?
The California Department of Finance (DOF) has issued population projections for the state’s counties to 2060. Forecasts are provided for every decade, from a 2010 base. The DOF projects that the the...
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Who Benefits From Other People's Transit Use?
In the May 11 issue of Finance and Commerce, Matt Kramer, a local Chamber of Commerce representative lobbying for additional public transit and transportation spending (currently being debated at the...
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U.S. Foreign Policy a Series of Unforced Errors
President Obama, as a fan and occasional player of basketball, should know about “unforced errors.” Those are the kind of thoughtless, bonehead plays where you lose the ball without a defender swatting...
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