Urban Planner. Editor/publisher, The Corner Side Yard blog. If no one else will speak up for the Rust Belt, I will.
May 18, 2023 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
If you want to understand why violent crime in Chicago did not decline here as in other large cities, and why it's in the news for it now, I suggest learning about two big city policy actions of the last 24 years. A thread. 1/15
Ten years ago next week, Chicago Public Schools authorized the closure of 50 schools in the city -- the largest such public school closure in U.S. history. 2/15
May 7, 2023 • 25 tweets • 6 min read
My 🔥take:
The absolute most significant trend in American urbanism since WWII is the diminishment of Rust Belt cities. First misunderstood, later just forgotten. And our lack of understanding and knowledge of the Rust Belt keeps us from making ALL cities better.
A thread. 1/25
Maybe I'm picking on @mattyglesias, but last week he wrote on piece on Chicago that was the latest in a series of pieces wondering what's going on in the Windy City. The crime, corporate defections, corruption, population loss, among others. 2/25
I added 2010-2019 population growth rate and GDP per cap growth rate for U.S. metros >500k. Top 10:
1. San Jose 2. San Francisco 3. Seattle 4. Provo 5. Riverside/San Bernardino 6. Salt Lake City 7. Greenville (SC) 8. Los Angeles 9. Raleigh 10. New York
1/11
11-20:
11. Nashville 12. Cincinnati 13. Modesto 14. Detroit 15. Pittsburgh 16. Portland (OR) 17. Sacramento 18. Wichita 19. Spokane 20. San Diego
2/11
Oct 1, 2020 • 25 tweets • 4 min read
@JosephRMolnar's great thread about South Bend's annexation experience prompted a new thread. What happened there isn't unique; it's a defining characteristic of the Rust Belt. 1/
We all know that for decades the suburbia narrative was one of homogenized, sprawled and insulated wealth separated from diverse, dense and isolated poverty. We also know that's changed dramatically over the last 30-40 years. But that distinction... 2/
Aug 21, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I missed this from a couple months ago, but Alan Mallach makes the same critique I've made: YIMBYism has some flaws that need addressing.
More Housing Could Increase Affordability—But Only If You Build It in the Right Places shelterforce.org/2020/06/19/mor… via @Shelterforce
The chief flaw IMO is that many YIMBYs want more housing in the areas they want to live. My point is that doesn't always create more affordability, because builders know they can command high prices in in-demand neighborhoods.
Jun 20, 2020 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
Thread coming. 1/18
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
There have been quite a few conservatives lately saying they simply don't believe in "systemic racism" in America. What they mean is there's very little overt, specifically race-directed discrimination today. But this article demonstrates how... 2/18
May 19, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
About a month ago I ran this poll. Let's see if things have changed. How many people do you know who've died of COVID-19?
So it was actually just 17 days ago when I last did this poll. And so far, the differences are striking. The May 2 results:
None: 78.1%
One: 14.5%
2-3: 6.1%
4+: 1.3%
May 2, 2020 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I can't help but put the pandemic in the race and class segregation context that literally shows up in everything in America. Here's how I see it. 1/
There's the upper 20%. Honestly I think this group was the COVID-19 seeders in the US, especially in NY (opinion my own). But they had the health care to facilitate recovery (see: Tom Hanks) and ability to work remotely to reduce its impact. 2/
May 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Do you know someone who's died from COVID-19?
In my case COVID-19 got a little more personal a week ago. Last Saturday a first cousin's husband and a more distant older cousin passed from the disease. Both were from Detroit.
Apr 30, 2020 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
With a h/t and apologies to @JasonSzegedi (don't mean to hijack your thread!) I have some thoughts on how COVID-19 took root and spread in the US. 1/@JasonSzegedi mentioned the staggering differences between NY and CA COVID-19 cases. NY has 300k+ cases, almost 24k deaths; CA has under 50k cases and under 2k deaths. And CA has 2x the people. What gives? 2/
Apr 9, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Thread. Had a conference call this morning. My town is part of a group of suburban municipalities working on a public transportation study. Became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic might dramatically change perceptions of public transportation. 1/4
Public transit in the U.S. has always (since the car) had the perception as "poor person's transportation". The class divide that used to be management/labor or salaried/wage earner is now knowledge worker/service worker... 2/4
Apr 8, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Back in 1995 Chicago had a week long super humid heat wave with heat indices that reached 125. More than 700 people died. In a city with many older buildings lacking A/C, blacks, especially poor and elderly, were disproportionately affected. 1/
When Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 the lowest of the city's lowlands, where most blacks lived, was disproportionately impacted by death and destruction. 2/
Mar 2, 2020 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
A quick political thread on trying to understand this white progressives/black moderates split in the Democratic Party. 1/@BernieSanders supporters really struggle to understand how most black voters approach elections. Why? Because they (IMO) equate civil rights and social justice with revolutionary actions. Blacks... don't. 2/
If I were to liken upzoning to any other urban policy, I'd equate it to the development of the Interstate Highway system. 1/
There was certainly a need to speed access between cities using this fantastic tool called the automobile. Big city mayors were early supporters because they believed it brought more people *to* their urban cores. They thought it was a stimulus. 2/
Feb 13, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Time for a small rant. I've heard people describe Detroit as a physically sprawling city that, at a huge 139 square miles, grew so large and lost so much that it could never expect to fill its vast spaces ever again. That's crazy. 1/5
I've seen maps that show how Detroit could hold San Francisco (48 sq. mi.), Boston (48 sq. mi.) and Manhattan (24 sq. mi.) with room to spare. So what? The fact remains that Detroit is the 64th largest city in area in the nation. Not some land hog. 2/5
Feb 11, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Followup on yesterday's Chicago thread. I said yesterday that the MHI for "Booming Chicago" was $68,186 in 2017. In SF in 2017 it was $110,816. But a cost of living calculator says the SF figure is equal to $67,509 in Chicago. Essentially equal. 1/4
"Booming Chicago's" percentage of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or more was 57.4% in 2017. In SF it was 57.8%. Again essentially equal. 2/4
Feb 10, 2020 • 24 tweets • 5 min read
Coming now: a thread on Chicago and its economic and cultural fault lines. 1/
I recently heard (h/t @aaron_renn) a @WBEZCuriousCity question. Someone asked the producers of the show: is Chicago really "Midwestern"? Producers went to work. 2/
Jan 16, 2020 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Quick thread/personal story about feeling unwelcome in a space.
Space: The Final (Urban) Frontier cornersideyard.blogspot.com/2020/01/space-…2/ When I was 18 I went on a cross-country trip with my grandparents. We drove from Detroit to Calgary, AB in Canada and took a fairly leisurely route. My grandfather just had eye surgery and I was along to help drive. We drove about 6-8 hours a day.
Dec 16, 2019 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
At what temp does the weather get an official "it's cold" designation from you? Please select one, and if you like add your answer and location as a comment.
OK, just realized the under 50/32-49 categories are basically the same thing. Please disregard the 32-49 category.
Dec 8, 2019 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Latest at CSY. I'm reposting my series on the Midwest from 4 1/2 years ago to lay the groundwork for understanding our split national personalities.
CSY Repost: The "Five Midwests" Series, Part 1: Overview cornersideyard.blogspot.com/2019/12/csy-re…
The general lack of understanding a pivotal region in America, with some of us suggesting it should just start over, is why the Midwest/Rust Belt behaves (electorally) as it has. 1/
Dec 3, 2019 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
You want a really hot take? If you want to understand Donald Trump's appeal and support, you could do no worse than look at Marion Barry and OJ Simpson.
Marion Barry was elected mayor of DC ostensibly as an outsider/reformer but really was a middle finger to the system by those who supported him. He played to his base, who had his back all the way through the crack-smoking evidence.
