A Restored Competitive Advantage for Cities?
by Matt Mayrl on April 21, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
The Washington Post published this article today, detailing the resurgence of the railrod industry in U.S. To briefly summarize: As oil prices continue to rise, rail freight traffic is increasing dramatically. Because rail fright shipping has a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers, the amount of tonnage shipped via rail is projected to almost double by 2035.
How does this relate to urban policy? Well, the agglomeration of industry and people we see in cities was initially driven by businesses needing to locate close to rail lines, before the modern trucking industry evolved. And, cities still retain extensive rail infrastructure. To the extent that businesses can realize cost efficiencies by locating near rail lines, the resurgence of the rail freight industry provides cities with a competitive advantage that can contribute to cities’ revitalization.
Strip Malls? Really?
by Matt Mayrl on March 16, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Our first guest post, from fellow urban policy wonk, Patrick Thrasher…
This link, about great gems - restaurants, galleries - in strip malls in LA, came over the GSD Urban Planners’ listserv.
I think it’s a pretty great reminder that the form of a a city’s physical structure alone doesn’t doom or save a city. Even strip malls, universally reviled by urbanists, have something to offer, in this case, relatively low overhead for interesting small businesses and restaurants. Many thanks to Sarah Dabbs, MUP1 at the GSD and an LA native, for sending this along.
The Downside of Development
by Matt Mayrl on March 9, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Thought I’d share this interesting article in the Washington Post about how the DC’s hot real estate market is leading to the loss of affordable rental units. It’s a good reminder that economic development challenges vary widely from city to city, based on the strength of the real estate market. Also, it highlights the need for urban policymakers to review regulations, codes, and oversight techniques to make sure they continue to advance the public interest as the market changes.
Connective Tissue
by Matt Mayrl on March 5, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
That’s how Bruce Katz refers to our nation’s infrastructure in a new opinion piece in this month’s Atlantic, which includes the graphic that illustrates the stresses on roads in and round our nation’s cities. This is a huge issue for cities today, impeding economic development and decreasing quality of life.
According to the article, the feds send state governments about $50 billion per year to be invested in roads and transit. So, here are the questions: Is this enough? Do we need even greater resources devoted to infrastructure? Or, is the real problem that states’ don’t target their investments well? Read more
Pleasantville Slums?
by Matt Mayrl on February 26, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Are suburbs becoming the new homes of slums? According to this article in the Atlantic, yes. The article’s author, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and University of Michigan professor, believes that a number of trends are converging which could eventually push slums out of the city and into the burbs.First, he notes that the suburban market it overbuilt:
In 2006, using recent consumer research, housing supply data, and population growth rates, he modeled future demand for various types of housing. The results were bracing: Nelson forecasts a likely surplus of 22 million large-lot homes (houses built on a sixth of an acre or more) by 2025—that’s roughly 40 percent of the large-lot homes in existence today.
Leadership in Cities
by Matt Mayrl on February 18, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
With the most exciting presidential primary in modern history unfolding between our eyes, I figured we had to start out with some post about what roles cities play in the upcoming elections.
MayorTV
Not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but the kinds of basic services that we have all come to expect from government. While I think the intention of MayorTV was to help spur more dialogue on what role the federal government should be taking in cities (a desperately needed discussion), I think it’s useful to point out that with a derelict federal government, cities have taken it upon themselves to solve these problem. And, in doing so, have generated some pretty interesting policy innovations. Here’s a quick list off the top of my head:
Infrastructure
- Mayor Shirley Franklin succeeded in getting a $3.2 billion bonding initiative passed to overhaul Atlanta’s aging water and sewerage system.
- Mayor John Hickenlooper convinced Denver voters to raise the Regional Transportation District’s sales tax in the metro area to 1% from 0.6%, to fund 119 miles of new rail and rapid transit bus lines throughout the metropolitan area.
- Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore has created Operation Orange Cone, which has doubled the number of lane-miles resurfaced each year in the city.
There’s more….. Read more
Welcome to the Urban Jungle
by Matt Mayrl on February 15, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Welcome to All Politics is Local, an urban policy blog written by city-focused graduate students of urban policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Read more
