Author: Kaitlin Hopkins

“Fortune, of “America’s Most Livable Cities” fame, recently published a protest of all such rankings. Urbanist Joel Kotkin says he prefers cities of “ambitious migrants, families and entrepreneurs” to those promising “safety, sanitation or homogeneity.” Or advanced degrees, let’s say. Kotkin finds an urban standard in 17th-century Amsterdam, which Rene Descartes described as “an inventory of the possible.” Whatever its failures, Las Vegas passes that test.”

Joel on Las Vegas Weekly

“The minimum wage in the United States today is far below what it was a few decades ago, thanks to inflation. At the same time, in the last generation wages have stagnated while roughly half of the gains from economic growth have gone to a tiny number of rich Americans. Many conservative economists and business executives argue that companies cannot afford high wages for ordinary workers. Aren’t high salaries and bonuses costs as well? ”

Michael on The Daily Doubter

“Wendell Cox, Joel Kotkin, James Heartfield, and Mark Pennington have devastating presentations on the effects of smart growth on housing (the Antiplanner talks on this subject as well).”

Joel and Wendell on The New America Foundation

“‘They came here, they educated their kids, they had a pool and a house. That was the opportunity for a pretty broad section of society,’ says Joel Kotkin, an urbanist at Chapman University, in Orange County. This was what attracted immigrants in their millions, flocking to industries – especially defence and aviation – that seemed to promise jobs for life. But the newcomers were mistaken. Levine, among millions of others, does not think California is a utopia now. ‘California is going to take decades to fix,’ he says.”

Joel on The Guardian

“Twitter allows just 140 characters per ‘tweet,’ including spaces and punctuation. After a Republican member of Congress was ridiculed for tweeting during the State of the Union address this past February, Twitter usage exploded 3,700 percent in less than a year. By the time you pick up this article (or read it online), monthly U.S. Twitter users will outnumber the population of Texas—or possibly California.”

Rick Cole on California City News

“Joel Kotkin predicts a move toward the political center due to California’s economic woes and realization that ‘California’s experiment with ultra-progressive politics has gone terribly wrong.’ New Geography”

Joel on LA Observed

“But oddly enough, that’s only a minor matter. Bigger questions are also at issue. And for a consideration of those questions, one might turn to Michael Lind, the former neoconservative who stepped back and decided all that stuff was nonsense, then gave us Up From Conservatism: Why the Right is Wrong for America (1996) and Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics (2004). He likes rethinking things, even if no one else does.”

Michael Lind on Just Above Sunset

“To dedicated urbanites, thriving on the culture, street life and energy of the city’s downtown, suburbs can seem like a bland and boring alternative. Who would trade the intensity, hybridity and vibrancy of the core for the sterile sprawl of the periphery? Yet, as urban theorist Joel Kotkin points out, the reality of market forces and ‘voting with your feet’ provides stark evidence that suburbia is emerging as the predominant form of urbanism in the 21st century. “Since 1950, more than 90 per cent of metropolitan population growth in America has taken place in the suburbs,” he writes. “Today, roughly two out of three people in the nation’s metro areas are suburban dwellers.” The future of the metropolis, it seems, lies in its suburbs. ”

Joel on Urbanatomy

“One of the most frequently mouthed claims about high-speed rail is that it is enormously profitable. Judging by the claims made by proponents, you might wonder why all the world’s capital has not “beaten a path” to the station, says Wendell Cox, a senior fellow with the Heartland Institute.”

Wendell Cox on NCPA

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Land-rich boomtowns, like Dallas, can offer the same kind of value proposition that Cincinnati can bring to the table. Read a little Ed Glaeser or Joel Kotkin and you will get the gist of the comparative advantage. The assets of shrinking cities are a bit more complicated. I recommend saving a few dollars and watching Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”. First city to embrace Rust Belt Chic as a branding campaign wins.”

Joel on Burgh Diaspora