Dirt cheap.
Why we’re very skeptical about urban farming. At City Observatory, we don’t tend to have a lot of content about agriculture. Farming is not an urban activity. But every so often, we read techno-optimistic stories
May 2017
The Week Observed, May 19, 2017
What City Observatory did this week 1. Volunteering as a measure of social capital. Thanks to the work of Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone and more recently, Our Kids, there’s a growing understanding of
The Week Observed, May 19, 2017 Read Post »
Why America can’t make up its mind about housing
Here are two ideas that, if you’re like most Americans, you probably mostly agree with: Government policy should help keep housing broadly affordable, so as not to price out people of low or moderate incomes
Why America can’t make up its mind about housing Read Post »
Volunteering as a measure of social capital
Volunteering is one of the hallmarks of community; here are the cities with the highest rates of volunteerism The decline of the civic commons, the extent to which American’s engage with one another in the
Volunteering as a measure of social capital Read Post »
Key to prosperity: Talent in the “traded sector” of the economy
“Traded sector” businesses that employ well-educated workers mark a prosperous region At City Observatory, we regularly stress the importance of education and skills to regional economic success. Statistically, we can explain almost two-thirds of the
Key to prosperity: Talent in the “traded sector” of the economy Read Post »
My illegal neighborhood
Editor’s note:  City Observatory is pleased to provide this guest commentary by our friend Robert Liberty a keen observer of and advocate for cities.  We first published this post in 2015, but its as timely
My illegal neighborhood Read Post »