New Report Finds One Demographic is Disproportionately Behind America's Urban Revival

America's urban renaissance is real. And it’s not limited to the Bostons and San Franciscos of the world.

Herriges, City Observatory, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 15, 2020City Observatory, Joe Cortright, cities

Postcards from the Edges: With COVID-19, Density Is Not Destiny

Two polar cases suggests that density (or lack thereof) has little to do with the spread of the pandemic.

COVID-19 Is Teaching Us How to Fix Our Traffic Problem. Are We Listening?

Shifting traffic patterns are backing up decades of data: the way to fix our highways isn’t expanding capacity but rather managing demand.

What COVID-19 Teaches Us About How to Fix Freeways

If we’re willing to learn, this experiment shows us how to fight congestion and get a more efficient transportation system.

Is COVID-19 the End of Cities?

The New York Times (among others) is speculating that COVID-19 will spur a massive exodus from cities. These claims are based on two very dubious assumptions.

Lying About Safety to Sell Freeway Widening

The Oregon Department of Transportation’s lies about safety are so blatant they can be seen 400 miles away.

20 Reasons the New Urban Mobility Report Is Fatally Flawed...Again

Flawed methodology. Lack of accountability. Discrepant data. Egregious assumptions. The new Urban Mobility Report will be used to make or justify transportation policies around the country, which makes it too wrong to be ignored.

You Can’t Judge Housing Affordability Without Knowing Transportation Costs

You might get more house for your money in an outer-ring suburb. But if you have to own and maintain multiple cars, are you better off? Common measures of housing affordability don’t include transportation costs, and so they fail to capture a realistic view of the true cost of living in certain places.

Housing, Top StoryJoe CortrightMay 1, 2019City Observatory, H+T Index, housing cost

Scooter Lessons: Success, but a Stark Double Standard

Data shows Portland’s scooter experiment worked. Maybe it’s time to critically appraise the 110 year experiment with cars.

Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightJanuary 29, 2019e-scooters, Portland OR, City Observatory

Peaks, Valleys, and Donuts: Visualizing Cities in Cross-Section

Research from the University of Virginia powerfully illustrates one of the most important trends in American cities in the 21st century so far: the return of the wealthy and educated to traditional downtowns.

Top StoryDaniel Kay HertzOctober 1, 2018City Observatory, data, demographics, suburban poverty

Visions of a Future City

What stories do we tell ourselves about the kind of world we want to live in?

Top StoryJoe CortrightFebruary 9, 2017City Observatory, autonomous vehicles

How Urban Geometry Creates Neighborhood Identity

Does geometry bias our view of how neighborhoods work?

HousingDaniel Kay HertzJanuary 25, 2017City Observatory, neighborhood

Why Talent Matters to Cities

This data shows that if you want a successful economy, you have to have a talented population.

Member Post, Top StoryJoe CortrightSeptember 15, 2016City Observatory, education, schools

Counting Women Entrepreneurs

The number of women starting and owning businesses is on the rise.

Top Story, Member PostJoe CortrightSeptember 7, 2016Entrepreneurship, City Observatory

A Tragedy We Can't Ignore

38,000 people are dying as a result of car crashes every year, and we think nothing of it.

#NoNewRoads, #SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Top Story, TransportationRachel QuednauSeptember 1, 2016car crash, City Observatory

A Postcard from Marietta

Caution: This post contains graphic images of housing displacement. Viewer discretion is advised.

Top Story, Suburban Poverty, Member PostJoe CortrightAugust 18, 2016Georgia, gentrification, race, City Observatory

Why aren't we talking about Marietta?

It’s apparently acceptable for suburbs to actively discourage – and in this case, actually relocate – low-income renters. By pretending this sort of thing only happens in Brooklyn or San Francisco, we leave the low-income households who used to live in these now-demolished Marietta apartments vulnerable to very real displacement.