A placemaking policy agenda
More than a decade of research on the changing American economy has led us to conclude that, quite simply, in a flattening world where work can increasingly be done anyplace by anybody, the places with the greatest concentrations of talent win. The new path to prosperity is concentrated talent. Human capital is what attracts business […]
Development-oriented light rail
Years ago I heard a presentation by folks who were involved in the development of the Portland Oregon streetcar system. They described it as development-oriented transit, not transit-oriented development. They wanted to emphasize that the main purpose was central city economic development, not moving people. (You can check out the staggering magnitude of new development […]
People as the most important natural resource
One of our favorite quotes for years comes from Forbes publisher Rick Karlgaard: “Best place to make a future Forbes 400 fortune? Start with this proposition: The most valuable natural resource in the 21st century is brains. Smart people tend to be mobile. Watch where they go! Because where they go, robust economic activity will […]
Restructuring Detroit K-12 education
As the legislature debates restructuring K-12 schooling in Detroit, a reporter asked me why Excellent Schools Detroit (ESD) hasn’t worked. I am a founding and continuing Board member of ESD. If worked means a substantial increase in the number of quality schools in the City of Detroit––or for that matter outside of Detroit but serving […]
Not coding school
Insightful Atlantic article entitled Will the push for coding lead to technical ghettos? With a subtitle of “The emphasis on knowing Java and JavaScript could put students of color on the bottom rung of the tech workforce.” Exactly! In these posts we have decried the push from elites to have other people’s kids forgo a […]