This article is part of the State of Chicago. I wasn't planning to write a piece on Chicago tech, but I did a radio interview about it this week and since I never know how much might be used from me in a space constrained medium, I thought I'd lay out something here too. I've said before that I don't think Chicago is well positioned to become some type of dominant tech hub, but should only seek to get its "fair share" of tech. However, as the third largest city in America, Chicago's fair share on tech is still pretty darn big. If you look … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2012
Review: The New Geography of Jobs
The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Moretti Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2012) Starting in the 1980s, the American economy bifurcated. On one side, cities with little human capital and traditional economies started experiencing diminishing returns and stiff competition from abroad. On the other hand, cities rich in human capital and economies based on knowledge-intensive sectors started seeing increasing returns and took full advantage of globalized markets. - Enrico MorettiFor unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have … [Read more...]
Rethinking Brand Chicago
This post is part of the State of Chicago series. So many Midwest places flail around looking for a brand image or identity. Not Chicago. In fact, the identity and stories of Chicago overflow the page. They are too numerous to be written in a mere blog posting. Yet Chicago has in effect decided to jettison that powerful, historic brand identity in favor of a type of global city genericism. This, I believe, is a mistake. One trend you can't help but notice if you travel is the increasing homogenization of the urban culture and standard … [Read more...]
Fixing Chicago: Rahm’s Work in Progress
This article is part of The State of Chicago. As I continue with my Chicago series, I'll turn now to the matter of how to fix what's wrong with Chicago, hopefully without damaging the things that are already right and going well. This first piece is to highlight what Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already been doing. The timing's risky, as at midnight tonight the teachers' union might go on strike. But I'll take my chances. I voted for Rahm for mayor, for three major reasons: 1. I see him as like his mentor Bill Clinton, namely someone to … [Read more...]
Brief Notes from a Trip to Philadelphia
I've always said that Philadelphia is the biggest city in America you wouldn't notice disappearing. With six million people, it's the sixth largest metro in America. And while, because of the vagaries of metro area definitions, I think that overstates its rank a bit, without a doubt, Philly is one of America's largest metro areas. A 1.5 million people, Philadelphia is also America's 5th largest municipality. So why doesn't Philly loom larger in the national consciousness? When we think of Philly, mostly we think of stuff that happened a long … [Read more...]
The Brief Wondrous Life of the One Dollar Bus
[ People think New York and they think Manhattan first, or maybe the finer precincts of Brooklyn. But it's an amazingly diverse city. Jefferson Mao grew up in Flushing, Queens, and writes a blog dedicated to that extremely diverse and interesting neighborhood. It's called Flushing Exceptionalism and you ought to give it a look. In this piece reprinted from that blog, he talks about entrepreneurship and the life conditions of the immigrant - Aaron. ] I was there for the entirety of the One Dollar Bus Era in Flushing. It was on a Sunday when … [Read more...]