Did Cities Fail Us?

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.

Again, I want to be very clear that these neighborhoods are not some hell on earth, and anyone from the rest of world would be smitten to have the chance to live in them. As I wrote above, if an average African, Asian, or Latin American asked my advice I would tell them to move there. It would be downright weird of me to tell them otherwise, given ... See more

To consider the grounds and context of creating a new kind of city, this essay outlines the fraught history of urban density in the US and abroad, from its stigmatisation by city officials as a mark of poverty and uncleanliness, to its reinvention as an asset for artists and cultural workers in the post-industrial era, and onward to the continued a... See more