More than a decade ago we identified four common characteristics of high-prosperity non-energy-driven states: Over concentrated in knowledge-based services which are the sectors of the economy both growing and high wageHigh proportion of adults with a four-year degree or moreEven…
Important new report from the Economic Policy Institute on the continuing pulling away of the top one percent from the bottom 99 percent. The big picture story is as EPI writes: Examining the growth of income over the past century, we…
Updated data from Joe Cortright of Impressa on the continuation of young professionals choosing to live in central cities. Cortright, using American Community Survey data, looks at the change in the number of 25-34 year olds with a four-year degree…
Michigan's two big metros not being selected as finalist for the Amazon's HQ2 should not surprise anyone. Amazon made clear that it wanted—really needed—to locate in a community with high talent concentrations today and tomorrow. Neither metro Detroit nor metro…
In Lou’s work with Michigan Future, he has argued for years—and argues again in our recent report—that Michigan needs to come to grips with the fact that a prosperous state economy isn’t driven anymore by lots of low-skilled manufacturing work,…
Oregon's legislature is considering a fascinating, and controversial, bill to remove certain local controls over development in favor of new, faster development and higher density. The Atlantic's "City Lab" reports: H.B. 2007 would preempt residential downzoning in cities, meaning a…
A recent post making the urbanist rounds asks, “Is Detroit Really Making a Comeback?” The authors’ research, which was just published in the journal Cities, looks at employment, income, housing values, and other data to explore whether the resurgence evidenced…
As a former newspaper reporter, I reflexively cringe when I hear the words “sponsored content” connected to print media outlets. Often, “sponsored content” is essentially slightly- less-overt-than-typical advertising that vexes both journalists and readers alike because it is usually presented…
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…
In a recent Detroit Free Press op ed John Austin writes about a Michigan Future report he and I worked on entitled Revitalizing Michigan's Central Cites: A Vision and Framework for Action. The report was published in 2003. As John…