Month: October 2014
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The four biggest myths about cities – #3: Crime is rising in cities
The Myth: Crime in cities is on the rise The Reality: Cities are getting safer For decades, the common perception about cities is that they were dangerous, dirty, and crowded. A look at the facts tells a different story: our cities are cleaner, safer, quicker, and healthier than ever. Today I’ll take a look at…
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And the Talent Dividend Prize Winner is . . .
Akron, Ohio! With a 20.2 percent increase in post-secondary degrees awarded over the past three years, Akron outpaced the 56 other metro areas entered in the Talent Dividend Prize contest. As the winner of the Talent Dividend Prize, Akron will receive one million dollars to promote further efforts to raise college attainment in Northeast Ohio. …
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The four biggest myths about cities – #2: Cities are dirty
The Myth: Cities are polluted and have dirty air The Reality: Urban air quality has improved dramatically since 1990 For decades, the common perception about cities is that they were dangerous, dirty, and crowded. A look at the facts tells a different story: our cities are cleaner, safer, quicker, and healthier than ever. Today I’ll…
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The four biggest myths about cities – #1 Cities aren’t safe for children
If your impression of cities came entirely from watching the evening news, you might think that cities are saddled with ever-increasing traffic congestion and rising crime rates. From talking to your Great Aunt Ida at Thanksgiving, you’d think that New York was more dangerous for children than the suburbs and that Los Angeles was still…
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Young and Restless: How is your city doing?
We just released our first CityReport looking at the “Young and Restless,” detailing where young talent is going in the U.S.- and why it matters. (Download the report here.) Here we show how the nation’s largest cities do with this important demographic. The Young and Restless–25 to 34 year-olds with a 4-year degree or higher–play…
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Young and Restless
The Young and Restless—25 to 34 year-olds with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education—are increasingly moving to the close-in neighborhoods of the nation’s large metropolitan areas. This migration is fueling economic growth and urban revitalization. Using data from the recently released American Community Survey, this report examines population change in the 51 metropolitan…
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Boo! The annual Carmaggedon scare is upon us.
A new report detailing the “costs” of congestion twists the data to become little more than talking points for the highway lobby. For transportation geeks, Halloween came early this year. A new report claims that traffic congestion is costing us $124 billion a year and is “draining” our economy. But just as those ghoul and…
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Talent & Prosperity
Talent drives city success: The biggest single factor explaining urban economic success is human capital.
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Questioning Congestion Costs
It’s frequently claimed that traffic congestion imposes high and rising costs on the economy. But is that true?
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Urban Form & Transportation
Density, land use patterns and the transportation system interact to determine how well cities fulfill their fundamental task of bringing people together.
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Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Generating new ideas and creating new businesses drives city economies and national economic growth.
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Economic Opportunity
A key measure of economic success has to be whether we provide widely shared opportunities for economic advancement.
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Placemaking & the Consumer City
The quality of life in cities is an essential ingredient and contributor to economic prosperity.
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Housing Markets
The creation and allocation of living space within a metropolitan area shapes our well-being and the regional economy.
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Metro Economics
Metropolitan areas are the fundamental organizational units of our global, knowledge-based economy.
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Distinctiveness
Every city has its own unique character and strengths which shape its economic opportunities.
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Widening the I-5 Rose Quarter Freeway
Should Portland spend $800 million to widen the I-5 Rose Quarter Freeway?
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Welcome to City Observatory!
Welcome to what matters for city success. Our original analysis and in-depth research on cities and urban issues is designed to inform community leaders, policy makers, policy wonks and the rest of us.
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Portland
Portland is our home and a local laboratory for many interesting developments in urban living.
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Finding your way around City Observatory
The City Observatory homepage is designed to provide you with access to the latest in urban policy analysis and research, and the background to make sense of it all. At the top of the site, you will find navigation links that will take you to the all of the content that we post on City…
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Upcoming Reports
In the next few weeks, look for new City Observatory reports addressing city job growth, the unfolding process of neighborhood change, and the changing way we create, use and interact with public spaces in cities.
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Is Portland really where young people go to retire?
Forget the quirky, slacker stereotype, the data show people are coming to Portland to start businesses. A recent New York Times magazine article “Keep Portland Broke,” echoed a meme made popular by the satirical television show “Portlandia” asking whether the city will always be a retirement community for the young. Far from being a retirement…
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Our Shortage of Cities
The Big Idea: High housing prices in American cities are a symptom of our shortage of great urban neighborhoods. The tried-and-true solution to a shortage is to supply by building new neighborhoods—places where people want to live.