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What if South Africa could become the next economic powerhouse? In this compelling episode of the Feudal Future Podcast, we’re joined by structural engineer Hügo Krüger and analyst Bheki Mahlobo to unpack South Africa’s political upheaval and its road ahead. For the first time since 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has lost its majority, leading to a coalition government. This historical shift presents a unique chance for the nation to redefine its political and economic landscape. We’ll explore the potential for South Africa to rise as a key emerging market, thanks to its robust institutions and democratic framework.

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The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff.

Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world.

For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, sponsored project analyst for the Office of Research, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu.

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This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

Restaurant sheds have been a lingering point of Covid controversy in New York City, and this item in the free tabloid papers from Schneps Media ought to be reason for further debate. The sheds were allowed on public streets to save the eateries during the indoor restrictions of the pandemic. Many of them remain in place despite commerce returning to normal even in NYC, this despite complaints from neighbors...
see: https://timwferguson.com/2024/06/26/dining-out-on-taxpayers-in-nyc/

Australia, much like America, is a nation of suburbs. The overwhelming majority of its people live, work and play in the suburbs of Australian cities. And while Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world, with two thirds of them living in their capital cities – and principally Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane at that – it is the suburbs of those cities that remain the preferred place to live.

The evolution of Australian cities and suburbs is a theme explored in this book by Suburban Futures, edited by Guy Gibson and Ross Elliott. It features 30 authors and includes international perspectives by Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox, Peter Gordon, Alan Berger and June Williamson and Ellen Dunham-Jones. The Canadian experience is told by Antony Lorius and Laura Taylor. Every Australian state and territory is also covered, each by a different author – all experts in their field but all with different perspectives on the history and future of suburban development.

North American readers will find much that is familiar and much that is new in this book. The editors have sought to provide a fresh sense of legitimacy for the suburban story of Australia which – much like in North America – is frequently the subject of disdain and derision. “The suburbs are about boredom, and obviously some people like being bored and plain and predictable, I'm happy for them … even if their suburbs are destroying the world,” was an infamous comment by noted Australian urbanist Elizabeth Farrelly. That’s not a view shared by authors in this work, who nonetheless are unafraid to tackle valid concerns around connectivity, mobility, equity and amenity.

The Next Australian City is for this reason both enlightening about the Australian experience, and challenging in terms of how its cities and suburbs will be shaped by global and local forces into the future.

Available at Amazon.

“Unfortunately, Latinos do worse than their Latino counterparts in other states. It’s largely due to a failing public educational system, and also due to increased regulation, mostly environmental.”

Siyamak sits down with Soledad Ursua, a lead author of ‘El Futuro es Latino’, conducted with Chapman University, which looks at how Latinos are doing in California compared to other states when it comes to education, income, and homeownership. We also sat down with Gloria Romero, a former state senator, and Marshall Toplansky, a clinical assistant professor at Chapman University. In this research, he looked at the Latino workforce in California.

“They are the largest number of truckers, laborers, construction industries that are crucial to the growth of California in the future. We’re going to need to rely on Latinos for the next generation of economic prosperity for the state and they’re really not being accommodated with current state policy.”

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Siyamak Khorrami is a contributor to California Insider

According to the latest information (American Community Survey, 2022), the strong relationship between median house values and median gross rents remains --- at a correlation coefficient of plus 0.89 (on a scale of perfect correlation [plus 1.00] or no correlation [-1.00]). This result, calculated from matching data in the 508 reported upon metropolitan and micropolitan areas (also called “functional urban areas”), is statistically significant at the 99% confidence level.

Wendell Cox is principal of Demographia, an international public policy firm located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Winnipeg and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has served as a visiting professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris. His principal interests are economics, poverty alleviation, demographics, urban policy and transport. He is co-author of the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey and author of Demographia World Urban Areas.

Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (1977-1985) and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council, to complete the unexpired term of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (1999-2002). He is author of War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life and Toward More Prosperous Cities: A Framing Essay on Urban Areas, Transport, Planning and the Dimensions of Sustainability.