Urban Issues

America’s universities may be a disgrace, but the deeper problems with our education system lie with grades K-12. Higher education still ranks as a U.S. strength that other countries might admire—but our grade schools might even be inadequate for poor, developing countries.  read more »

Los Angeles authorities’ poor preparation for and lamentable response to the wildfires now devastating the city capture a broader problem – namely, the failure of governance  read more »

Between 2000 and 2024, there has been substantial movement between the states — net domestic migration. The source of the data is the Census Bureau population estimates program  read more »

When I was studying for my Project Management Professional certification several years ago, part of the content included disaster planning.  read more »

The fire still engulfing large swaths of Los Angeles has done more than destroy homes, businesses, and livelihoods. It has scorched the whole dream of Los Angeles, part of a downward spiral unfolding for a generation  read more »

Data in the 2022 National Household Travel Survey (NTHS) provides insight into the daily frequency of daily commuting by the mode characterized as “usual” in survey (See: Summary of Travel Trends: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Table 7-3, reproduced below as Figure 1). The annual American Community Survey (ACS), administered by the Census Bureau, asks respondents for their “usual” mode of travel over the past week.  read more »

For years, the US South has done very well in net domestic migration (moving into the region from another region of the United States.  read more »

Today’s piece will be a little nerdy, perhaps a little lecture-y. You’ve been forewarned.

I often think about why American cities seem almost incapable of capitalizing on their assets  read more »

I’ll state this right from the outset. This is not a take-down. I’m expressing a point of view that differs from conventional urbanism wisdom.  read more »

The Western world has many enemies – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea – but none is more potentially lethal than its own education system.  read more »