Month: February 2018
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Irony Squared: Inclusionary Zoning Edition
Minneapolis is considering inclusionary zoning (IZ), but has qualms based on Portland’s experience. Ironically, a non-existent Minneapolis IZ program was a key part of the argument for adopting Portland’s IZ law in December 2016. Parts of this commentary are going to seem like a major-league distortion in the space-time continuum, so let’s start with a…
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The Week Observed, February 23, 2018
What City Observatory did this week Drinking, Parking, Flying, Peaking, Pricing: The five drivers of ride-hailing demand. The Transportation Research Board has published a dense, 100 page study of ride-hailing demand, drawing on survey and trip-making data from five cities around the country. There’s a lot to digest here, but fear not: City Observatory has…
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The emperor’s new infrastructure plan
Politics and the President’s wheeler-dealer background suggest the infrastructure plan is a mirage If there’s been one shred of hope for bi-partisan progress in this politically polarized time, its been the idea that somehow the “populist” Trump Administration and congressional democrats and republicans might somehow see eye-to-eye on the subject of good, old-fashioned public works…
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What drives ride-hailing: Parking, Drinking, Flying, Peaking, Pricing
Ride-hailing is growing: We distill a new report into 5 key factors that explain its growth A good reporter is always supposed to ask five questions: “who, what, when, where and why?” A new report on ride-hailing provides a range of keen insights about the demand for these services, and has important implications for predicting…
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The Week Observed, February 16, 2018
What City Observatory did this week 1. Cappucino City. Our friend and colleague Alex Baca offers the first of her three-part review of Derek Hyra’s book “The Cappucino City.” Baca, a former Washington DC journalist takes a close and critical look at Hyra’s claim that the gentrification of Shaw and other Washington neighborhoods is propelled…
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Challenging the Cappuccino City: Part 3: Cultural Displacement
City Observatory has long challenged the popular narrative about the nature and effects of gentrification. Today, we are pleased to offer the final installment of a three-part commentary by our friend and colleague Alex Baca. (You can read part 1 and part 2 as well). Alex has worked in journalism, bike advocacy, architecture, construction, and…
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Challenging the Cappuccino City: Part 2: The limits of ethnography
City Observatory has long challenged the popular narrative about the nature and effects of gentrification. This is the second installment of a three-part commentary by our friend and colleague Alex Baca. You can read parts one and three as well. Alex has worked in journalism, bike advocacy, architecture, construction, and transportation in D.C., San Francisco,…
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Challenging the Cappuccino City: Part 1: A New Premise?
City Observatory has long challenged the popular narrative about the nature and effects of gentrification. This is the first installment of a three-part commentary by our friend and colleague Alex Baca. Parts two and three are available as well. Alex Baca has worked in journalism, bike advocacy, architecture, construction, and transportation in D.C., San Francisco,…
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The Week Observed, February 9, 2018
What City Observatory did this week 1. City Limits: Some qualms about the new localism. The nation is deeply divided along political lines and it’s depressingly unlikely that we’ll generate national consensus on many issues soon. That, coupled with some palpable excitement about the positive steps being taken to pioneer better approaches to some problems…
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Big Bad Data: The Uninformative Inrix Scorecard
Big data should be used for problem solving, not propaganda and promotion Cue the extreme telephoto shots of freeways! Wallow in the pity of commuters stuck in traffic because of all those other people! Wail that congestion is getting worse and worse! It’s that time of year again: The big traffic congestion report is out.…
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Qualms about the new localism: Cities need the national government to do its job well
We like cities, but localism can only flourish with a competent, generous, fair federal government As our name City Observatory suggests, we’re keen on cities. We believe they’re the right frame for tackling many of our most important problems, from concentrated poverty to housing affordability, from economic opportunity to more sustainable living. But enamored as…
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It’s Groundhog’s Day again, Oregon: How’s your climate change strategy working?
A year later, and we’re still stuck with the same hypocrisy on climate change The 1993 movie, Groundhog’s day has been a cultural touchstone for the endless do-loop of futility. Bill Murray finds himself waking up every morning to discover that its still February 2, and that he’s done nothing to change any of the…
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Sprawl, stagnation, and NIMBYism: Animated maps of metro change
A picture of metropolitan growth: Sprawl then, stagnation now. We’re in awe of Issi Romem’s prodigious data skills. Romem is the economist and big data guru BuildZoom, the web-based marketplace for construction professionals. His latest report is a multi-decade look at the growth (and non-growth) of housing at the neighborhood level in the nation’s largest…