Dror’s Substack | Substack

As Matt Clancey points out that “the benefits of knowledge spillovers from being physically close to other knowledge workers have been falling and may no longer exist in many domains of knowledge.” This is a controversial claim, but Clancey provides a detailed review of multiple studies that address this matter from different directions.

Cities are predicated on a set of trade-offs that no longer make sense. Middle-class people tolerate density, pollution, disease, crime, high taxes, and expensive housing to access superior employment opportunities. If comparable opportunities can be accessed without the above costs, many people will opt-out of the current arrangement.

Cities emerged to solve a set of problems that no longer exist. Physical goods are already made and traded elsewhere. Information and intellectual property can now be produced and exchanged online.

The bundle no longer makes sense. In fact, it no longer exists. The few services that still require interaction with people of different classes are now governed by apps and algorithms. It is no longer necessary to get along with people or to be nice to them. You click on an app, someone delivers something, and you decide whether to add a tip witho... See more