Welcome to the New Urban Order.
Every week, this newsletter explores the future of cities. Topics include housing, climate, urban tech, post-pandemic downtowns, and more. Through this content and occasional subscriber events, I’m hoping to build a community of urban enthusiasts and people who are professionally engaged in city-making.
What you’ll get reading this newsletter:
Original analysis on cities. Every week there’s new data about the direction of cities, such as where populations are moving or the impact of legislation. I’ll dive into that data and share a few thoughts on what these new stats mean for cities.
Posts that dissect media about cities. Do you read op-eds, articles, and social media on topics such as office conversions to congestion pricing and want to talk about what the reporter got right and wrong? Me too!
Emerging innovations in cities. You’re wondering how Dallas came to have so many downtown parks or why Kigali, Rwanda is getting attention for its walkability. I’ll get you the scoop.
A little about me
I grew up in Manhattan in the 1980s and had a front-row seat to New York City’s evolution until the mid-2000s. Through this experience, I became fascinated with urban policy and practice. In 2008, I moved from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to run the magazine formerly known as The Next American City and now known as the online publication, Next City, and traveled the country (and a few places abroad) to learn about the cutting edge in urban policy and practice.
In recent years, I’ve focused more of my writing on housing, and my book Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing came out in 2020. After the pandemic, I felt like the conversation about cities and their recovery was extremely rich and I wanted to both share some ideas on how to shape future cities for the better and hopefully learn a lot along the way.
Why pay for media
Know that this work is only possible because of paying subscribers. I really appreciate each subscription and try to send a personal note with each upgrade from free to paid. I hope you’ll read all my posts, get engaged in the comments, and build this community with me.
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