Urban Economics posts, articles, and infographics

Vienna, Austria Ranked As the Smartest City

February 3, 2012 by TheCityFix - produced by EMBARQ
with 179 views

We previously wrote about the most livable cities in the world and the most innovative solutions to make cities more livable. Now we bring you the smartest cities in the world, courtesy of Boyd Cohen of Co.EXIST. [read more]

The Urbanization Of Tech Employment

February 2, 2012 by Jim Russell
with 158 views

F.I.R.E. Finance, insurance, and real estate. That's the kind of industry I expect to find in the downtown area of a big city. The wild speed and reach of financial capital defines contemporary globalization. At the heart of it all is New York and London, two global giants undergoing a transformation of economic geography. Silicon... [read more]

Sprawl and EMS Delays

January 31, 2012 by Thomas Lambert
with 48 views

Daniel Nairn's November 2009 post on sprawl and EMS delays cites a paper written in late 2009 by Dr. Matthew Trobridge and some of his colleagues in which they claim that they are the first to find a statistically significant link between sprawl and EMS response delays. In the video link in Mr.... [read more]

Will Rio’s Development Surge Bring Social Integration?

January 30, 2012 by This Big City
with 117 views

“I’m going to Rio”, “I just got back from Rio”, “I want to go Rio”. It seems that everywhere I go I hear Rio this or Rio that. But even before Brazil’s second-largest city became the supra hit it has become after the announcements that it will host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, it was known for its illustrative Carnival... [read more]

Could Manufacturing be coming back?

January 25, 2012 by Next American City
with 41 views

We could use industry, though not necessarily the auto industry. Credit: National Buildings MuseumAmong the topics covered in last night’s State of the Union, President Obama outlined a plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. by cutting taxes for businesses that relocate to American soil. Meanwhile, companies that maintain... [read more]

Has Congestion Pricing Lost its Buzz?

January 24, 2012 by This Big City
with 215 views

It’s 2004. Despite initial resistance to the idea being fierce, London has had a congestion charge for a year, and by the most important metrics, it’s been a success. Mayor Ken Livingston has been reciting statistics to anyone who will listen, parading reductions in congestion by 30 percent and average speeds at their highest since the... [read more]

3 Requirements for Multigenerational Homes to work

January 23, 2012 by Tazmine Loomans
with 224 views

Multigenerational living is growing like gangbusters, with babyboomers retiring and recent grads increasingly moving home. Here, what factors to pay attention to. Do you agree? [read more]

From Starbucks to Barbucks: Hyperreal Gentrification in Your Neighborhood

January 23, 2012 by Tony Chavira
with 541 views

The idea behind hyperreality is that, at some point, you stop being able to distinguish what is real from what is fantasy. And this is what companies like Starbucks hope to ultimately achieve. [read more]

Oakland Is Dying

January 22, 2012 by Jim Russell
with 182 views

Photo by Franco Folini via Flickr

Is too much tolerance pushing out talent from Berkeley? The uneven economic geography of the Bay Area has to be explained. Here is one version:"There's a brain drain running from the East Bay to San Francisco and the South Bay," said Vivek Wadhwa, a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's School of Information.Wadhwa said the famously... [read more]

Is (e)migration the answer to America's problems?

January 20, 2012 by Jim Russell
with 78 views

Better to boom with migrants than babies. Conventional wisdom associates population growth with economic growth. This perspective is unsustainable. I also think it is wrong. The simple act of moving to a new place is economic development. The United States is in trouble:For the last 20 years — from the end of the cold war through two... [read more]

Is 'cool' an economic development strategy?: Pittsburgh Versus Portland

January 17, 2012 by Jim Russell
with 294 views

Move to Portland and be somewhere. Move to Indianapolis and do something. Portland is a wonderful example of great placemaking. Placemaking to what end? Portland is attractive. Portland is winning the war for talent. Portland is San Francisco without jobs. [read more]

The Smoke & Mirrors of Laissez-Faire Localism

January 16, 2012 by julian dobson
with 48 views

'Yes, Mr Shapps - I'm feeling better already!'Imagine a health service where nobody bothered to share learning nationally or internationally about which treatments worked and why. Imagine a health service where it was considered entirely unnecessary to explore the causes of sickness, as long as local GPs and hospitals were given free... [read more]