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.
Who’s on the Ballot in Cities?
by Jenny Fogarty on March 5, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating International Women’s Day at HKS with a focus on the theme of Women Who Inspire all around the world. It struck me however, that right here in the US women make up only about 16% of our cities’ mayors. That means that - of the US cities with over 30,000 population - there are 960 male mayors and only 185 female mayors. (Our very own Cambridge is one of the 185.)
The Winter 2008 issue of the Harvard Political Review included a great collection of eight articles on mayors. Of the 10 US mayors they mentioned by name in the issue, zero of them were women. Perhaps it was because there were so few to choose from.
Why is this the case? Read more
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
Cities Behind Bars
by Jenny Fogarty on March 3, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
A recent study from the Pew Center on the States sheds light on a topic that is too often hidden from our usual policy-wonk conversations: the fact that more than one in 100 US adults is behind bars. Specifically, Thursday’s New York Times points out that one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, as well as one in 15 black adults and one in 36 Hispanic adults, based on Justice Department figures for 2006.
These statistics are staggering. Read more
More on the Lack of a National Urban Agenda
by Dan Walsh on February 27, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
Two articles talk about the presidential candidates’ lack of comprehensive urban agendas. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser wrote an article in January that analyzes the policies of the major presidential candidates and explains why they fall short. The recent article by Bruce Katz from the Brookings Institution argues that candidates should pay more attention to cities because they are the drivers of the nation’s economy. Katz goes on to summarize how cities spur innovation. Both articles talk about how the lack of clear, overarching goals leads to policies that pull in different directions. The articles also argue that changes in the national economy require policies focused on innovation and people. However, the Katz article emphasizes the importance of investing in certain industries and places, which is an approach that Glaeser rejects in his article.
The Katz article reads like a call for help, whereas Glaeser goes beyond the argument for why cities matter and critiques each candidate’s urban policies. For example, Glaeser makes the good point that education policy is a central part of urban development and applauds Clinton for focusing on the issue. The following quote from the Glaeser article is especially interesting: “Republicans now ignore cities altogether, and Democratic urban policies cater too much to well-organized urban interests. We need national politicians to pay more attention to urban problems, and this will only happen when we start judging them on their urban policies.”
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.
History Makes a Comeback
by Jenny Fogarty on February 24, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog, Blog
Somehow Friday’s snowstorm did not stop my class from taking a bus tour of North Central Massachusetts’ industrial cities. From our huge coach bus we saw small – but tough – cities that have weathered so much through the years. Built up as major industrial and manufacturing centers in the past, they now grasp onto their last hopes as the service sector engulfs the economy and globalization heightens competition.
Yet as I looked out the window I was struck by a recurrent symbol that these cities are still standing tall and strong, and they’re not going anywhere: the old mills. These huge brick buildings were originally built to take advantage of the water power on the Nashua River to support the plastics, paper, or furniture industries. The trademark of a growing economy and the lifeblood of these cities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, they have an almost untouchable, austere quality even today. Having grown old and obsolete, though, most of them stand empty. They remain looming over the towns as a symbol of what was… and what could be. Read more
A New Urban Agenda
by Dan Walsh on February 19, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
The New York Times this morning has an op-ed about the need for a new urban agenda, and it reminded me that the major candidates for President have not yet laid out comprehensive visions for how they are going to improve American cities. The Times emphasizes the political reasons for the candidates’ lack of urban agendas–mainly that rural states hold early primaries, so the candidates must spend more time talking about rural issues. Although I agree that politics matters a great deal, and that Iowa’s issues are extremely important, politics isn’t solely to blame for the lack of attention to urban issues. The problem lies more with a lack of federal support for cities and weak coalitions of urban interests.
The op-ed highlights proposals put forward by a few of the candidates, and I agree with many of them. For example, I agree with the leading Democratic candidates in that it is ridiculous that the Earned Income Tax Credit has not been raised in fifteen years. EITC has shown itself to be an extremely effective at providing relief for America’s poorest working families. Furthermore, it provides incentives to lift them out of poverty – a long term solution rather than a band aid. However, this isn’t enough.
The article also talks about what Bloomberg is doing in New York. Bloomberg is doing some interesting things – notably his proactive approach to sustainability and going after out-of-town gun dealers, but most cities do not have his range of options. The article argues for national leadership, but I think it’s important to note that, like mayor Bloomberg, city leaders do not have to sit back and wait for Clinton, Obama or McCain to make up their mind about what to do with America’s cities. Let’s take a look at how our mid-range cities – cities such as Minneapolis, MN; Raleigh, NC; and Richmond, VA - are reshuffling the political deck and outlining visions for the future.
