Aaron M. Renn

All Things Aaron

More on Columbus, Indiana

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I want to share a few additional thoughts on Columbus, looking at the question of whether things really could have been different in the Rust Belt with different policies. I believe the answer is Yes, with caveats. First, it's undeniable, as I've written many times before, that macroeconomic change drove much of the Rust Belt collapse. Rust Belt challenges spanned many different states, red vs. blue political environments, etc. It's also true that the Columbus model may not have been applicable or worked in the same way elsewhere, … [Read more...]

“Is It Too Late for a Man of Honesty, High Purpose, and Intelligence to Be Elected President of the US in 1968?”

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After putting up my post linking to my Atlantic piece on J. Irwin Miller and Columbus, Indiana, I discovered that the Esquire cover story I mentioned is actually online. It's great reading, and I highly recommend it. Keep in mind, Esquire was an important magazine back then. Here are some excerpts: "Wouldn't Irwin Miller be great?" exclaimed the Mayor [John Lindsay], a smile breaking across his face like a wave. "He's one of the great people of this world. He's got insight, humor, wisdom, saltiness. How could we get him to run?" Up to that … [Read more...]

The Rust Belt Didn’t Have to Happen

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I knew a number of things about J. Irwin Miller, the former Cummins Engine CEO who financed Columbus, Indiana's world-renowned collection of modernist architectural masterpieces.  But when I read Nancy's Kriplen's recent short biography of him, I learned a lot I'd never suspected. Clearly one of the most distinguished Hoosiers of all time, among other things, Esquire magazine put him on its cover in 1967 saying that he should be the next President of the United States.  That was a pipe dream, of course. Even had Nixon not been the Republican … [Read more...]

Interesting Recent Studies

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There are a few recent studies that caught my eye. The first is an interesting paper from Brookings that is a proposal for an Enrico Moretti-style "big push" approach to boost innovation sector jobs in cities outside the superstars. It's called "The case for growth centers: How to spread tech innovation across America." The authors make the point that innovation jobs have been concentrating in America. They observe: Most notably, just five top innovation metro areas—Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and San Diego—accounted for … [Read more...]

Midwest Success Stories

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My latest report has just been released by the Manhattan Institute. It's called, "Midwest Success Stories: These 10 Cities Are Blooming, Not Rusting." The report digs deeper into some of the themes I've highlighted here in the past (and also dovetails nicely with the recent McKinsey Global Institute report on the future of work in America). It's a look at 10 cities in nine states in the greater Midwest that are doing well economically and demographically even if they trail the performance of coastal superstars and sunbelt boomtowns. The … [Read more...]

Talent Attraction Scorecard

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The folks at EMSI, a labor market analytics firm, have issued their latest Talent Attraction Scorecard. They look at, among other things, the places that are gaining the most skilled workers. Obviously their ranking heavily correlate with population growth. What I found most interesting is their specific look at smaller counties and even "micro-counties" with a population of less than 5,000. Plenty of names you might not know but are worth checking out. Also, I couldn't resist posting the "This City Is Making a Comeback" bingo game that was … [Read more...]

Building Strong Towns

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My latest piece is a review of Chuck Marohn's new book Strong Towns over at City Journal.  Here's an excerpt: Strong Towns, the book and the namesake organization, resulted from civil engineer and urban planner Charles Marohn’s discovery that the highway projects he designed showed a negative return on investment. The local taxes generated by new road construction and expansion didn’t even cover the costs of the roads themselves, much less any other city services. Marohn calculated, for example, that it would take 37 years’ worth of … [Read more...]

If You Improve It, They Will Come

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My latest piece is now online at City Journal. It's a recap of the Indianapolis BRT and Columbus free downtown transit success, as well as a look at Kansas City's contemplation of free transit citywide. Thanks to a commenter here who originally alerted me to KC's plans. Here's an excerpt: Kansas City is considering the complete elimination of transit fares. In major cities, fares commonly pay for a substantial amount of the overall cost of service operations, and trains and buses are often overcrowded. In Kansas City, though, fares cover only … [Read more...]

Downtown Columbus Bus Commuting Surges

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Here's another bit of transit good news in the Midwest. The share of workers in downtown Columbus using transit to to comment rose from 5% to somewhere between 10-14% in only about a year. Columbus underground has the story. This ridership surge is a result of the C-Pass program, which provides a free bus pass to downtown workers. I've argued for a while that small cities should have fareless transit. Their farebox recovery is generally very small. Overall ridership is low. And the system is mostly below capacity. What's more, the riders of … [Read more...]