Fun with labor, maps, and statistics: if you want to find a job, move to North Dakota, Nebraska, or Dallas

I love data on jobs and job searching, probably because my own life is a wreck with that stuff right now. I started out looking at unemployment rate by state — to a coastal-bias person, it would seem crazy that the… Continue Reading

I-81 runs 855 miles from Knoxville to Canada. But one 1.4-mile stretch in Syracuse, NY could be a window to the future.

Fun fact: Dwight Eisenhower’s vision for the interstate system actually came from some roads he saw in Germany while a general. Communication lines got a bit crossed, though, and he didn’t actually realize interstates would run through cities until a few years… Continue Reading

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The U.S. needs more bus rapid transit (BRT) systems. A good example of why would be Buffalo, NY.

Let’s start with an understanding of what “Bus Rapid Transit,” or BRT, is. This article gives a good summary; essentially, it’s like giving a bus its own lane and having stations at each stop. Overall, it’s like turning bus travel… Continue Reading

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In 2022, you probably want to be working in health care, and you may want to be living in New Mexico or Greenville, NC

Cool article — fun with maps! — on The Atlantic Cities by way of Richard Florida recently, which details, essentially, job growth in the U.S. in the next 10 years. Here’s what you basically need to understand about all this. 1. You would… Continue Reading

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Across America’s 50 largest cities, the lowest inequality is in Virginia Beach

Here’s a new paper from the Brookings Institution looking at inequality — what the 20th percentile of earners in that city made in 2012 vs. what the 95th percentile made, and then calculating a ratio — in the 50 largest United… Continue Reading

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Cities go with low taxes to attract entrepreneurs and new companies; the entrepreneurs want talent and livability

Fact: San Francisco and Boston — two innovation hubs based on coasts, universities, etc. — are becoming more expensive. Fact: cities like Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, right there in the heartland/Rust Belt, are beginning to attract new start-ups and incubators and… Continue Reading

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Here’s what could really shift the future of American cities away from San Francisco, New York, and Boston

You could choke a horse on the Internet with lists about the “best city” or the “future city” of America — Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and others have all topped different lists — and now there’s a new study… Continue Reading

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Bill de Blasio gets all the ink, but maybe Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is the real city-redefiner

Bill de Blasio became Mayor of NYC and within literally moments, people were tapping him as a VP candidate down the road. He’s a new kind of liberal! It’s going to be a progressive revolution! All this makes sense — de Blasio is… Continue Reading