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The Week Observed, June 28, 2024

What City Observatory Did This Week Unique Local Experiences: The Hidden Value in Urban Economies. An often-overlooked aspect of urban economics: the value of unique, local, and seasonal experienc... →

By Joe Cortright

28.6.2024

Strawberries and economic prosperity

Perishable, special, and local: The economics of unique and fleeting experiences I pity you, dear reader. You likely have no idea what a real strawberry tastes like. Unless you spend the three... →

By Joe Cortright

24.6.2024

The Week Observed, June 21, 2024

What City Observatory Did This Week Inventing a "commitment" to megaproject cost-overruns. Oregon's Department of Transportation is is trying to re-write history to create a commitment to unapp... →

By Joe Cortright

21.6.2024

Inventing a “commitment” to freeway cost overruns

How ODOT is trying to re-write history to create a commitment to freeway cost overruns. The 2017 Legislature authorized zero funding for the I-205 Bridge project In 2024, ODOT now falsely cla... →

By Joe Cortright

17.6.2024

The Week Observed, June 28, 2024 Strawberries and economic prosperity The Week Observed, June 21, 2024 Inventing a “commitment” to freeway cost overruns More CityCommentary →

What Matters to the Success of Cities

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Economic Opportunity

A key measure of economic success has to be whether we provide widely shared opportunities for economic advancement. →

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Widening the I-5 Rose Quarter Freeway

Should Portland spend $800 million to widen the I-5 Rose Quarter Freeway? →

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Talent & Prosperity

Talent drives city success: The biggest single factor explaining urban economic success is human capital. →

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Housing Markets

The creation and allocation of living space within a metropolitan area shapes our well-being and the regional economy. →

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Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Generating new ideas and creating new businesses drives city economies and national economic growth. →

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Metro Economics

Metropolitan areas are the fundamental organizational units of our global, knowledge-based economy. →

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Urban Form & Transportation

Density, land use patterns and the transportation system interact to determine how well cities fulfill their fundamental t... →

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Distinctiveness

Every city has its own unique character and strengths which shape its economic opportunities. →

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Data & Tools

Quantitative data can shed light on the functions and performance of urban economies. →

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Kids in Cities

Young adults are increasingly choosing cities--what will happen when they have kids? →

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Placemaking & the Consumer City

The quality of life in cities is an essential ingredient and contributor to economic prosperity. →

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Portland

Portland is our home and a local laboratory for many interesting developments in urban living. →

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Questioning Congestion Costs

It's frequently claimed that traffic congestion imposes high and rising costs on the economy. But is that true? →

Latest from Twitter

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Youth Movement

The movement of talented young adults to dense urban neighborhoods isn't waning, it is widespread and accelerating, and it...

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Driven Apart: How sprawl is lengthening our commutes

The secret to reducing the amount of time Americans spend in peak hour traffic has more to do with how we build our cities...

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The Storefront Index

As Jane Jacobs so eloquently described it in The Death and Life of American Cities, much of the essence of urban living is...

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Less in Common

The essence of cities is bringing people—from all walks of life—together in one place. Social interaction and a robu...

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