Less Segregated Metro Areas Have Lower Black/White Income Disparities Income inequality in the United States has a profoundly racial dimension. As income inequality has increased, one feature of inequality has remained very much unchanged: black incomes remain persistently lower than white incomes. But while that pattern holds for the nation as a whole, its interesting to […]
How Racial Segregation Leads to Income Inequality Read More »
Making a market for shared mobility services Yesterday, we urged cities to think hard about how they can craft the rules for the transportation network companies that offer “ride sharing” systems to maximize competition, and encourage innovation and low prices. “Let a thousand Ubers bloom,” we said. The rules and regulations that cities set
A To-Do List for Promoting Competitive Ride-Sharing Markets Read More »
Why cities should promote robust competition in ride sharing markets We’re in the midst of an unfolding revolution in transportation technology, thanks to the advent of transportation network companies. By harnessing cheap and ubiquitous communication technology, Uber and other firms organizing what they call “ride sharing” services have not only disrupted the taxi business, but
Let a thousand Ubers bloom Read More »
What City Observatory did this week 1. Economist Paul Romer Joins the World Bank. Paul Romer, a leading exponent of the New Growth Theory has been hired as chief economist for the World Bank. We explore how his thinking about the role of knowledge-driven growth and the key role of cities in fostering institutional and
The Week Observed: July 29, 2016 Read More »
This is a story about the triumph of the City—not “the city” that Ed Glaeser has written about in sweeping global and historic terms—but the triumph of a particular city: San Francisco. For decades, the San Francisco Bay Area’s economy has been a microcosm and a hot house for studying the interplay between innovation, economic
The triumph of the City and the twilight of nerdistans Read More »
When we talk about gentrification, we often focus on housing. But another major concern is the effects of rising prices on retail—both because of what it means about the accessibility of goods and services for local residents, and because of questions of “community character.” The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s recent symposium on gentrification included a
How gentrification affects small businesses Read More »
Urban policy conversations are largely focused on local policy, though we at City Observatory have occasionally argued that more attention ought to be paid to state and federal policy. We haven’t had much to say about the presidential candidates themselves this year, but one exercise that’s worth paying a bit of attention to is the
The party platforms on housing Read More »
Suddenly, we’re awash in calculators. Housing calculators. If you’re a Baby Boomer, you remember the day you saw your first electronic calculator. It had an electronic display–red or green light-emitting diode segments, usually eight or ten of them that would display numbers, arithmetic operators and a decimal point. They had a few hard-to-press chicklet type
Housing Cost Calculators Read More »
Today we’re getting really wonky. Paul Romer, who’s currently at New York University’s Marron Institute has just been appointed to be the chief economist for the World Bank. Personnel decisions involving technocratic positions at global NGOs is about as wonky as it gets, of course. But this is a genuinely interesting development, especially if you’re
Paul Romer to the World Bank Read More »
What City Observatory did this week 1. Homeownership: A failed wealth creation strategy. Its an article of faith that owning a home is the most reliable route to wealth building in the US. But this hasn’t been true over the past decade, and its especially problematic for low income households and minorities. The housing market
The Week Observed: July 22, 2016 Read More »
