City Journal

Academic Mario Polèse argues that the history of local economic development is a "story of academic fads", that have "proven of little practical use."

Ethan Epstein chronicles the work of Seattle's mayor, Mike McGinn, who won office in 2009 from established candidates and a powerful incumbent on a "philosophically anti-car" base.

Laura Vanderkam tells of a not-too-distant past where New York's parks and public places were in disarray, and it took public-private partnerships to bring them back to their former glory (and maybe better).

The Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson, is falling apart at the seams. So why is it taking so long to repair?

An article in City Journal praises Governor Jerry Brown's efforts to defund California's redevelopment agencies at a time when the state faces a $26 billion deficit. The author writes that the agencies are wasteful and ineffective.

Public housing remains one of the major dysfunctional elements in U.S. welfare policy. But in Atlanta, one innovative administrator is changing the game.

Capitalism and bourgeois values built the city of Tel Aviv, which stands today as an outlier in Israel, according to this article.

By looking at Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai, this article from City Journal explores how politics and different governmental ideologies have shaped the growth of these mega-cities.

Victor David Hanson uses a broad historical perspective to examine the causes of the rise and fall of former world cities. He argues that the computer driven, global age will accelerate the process of growth and decline.

Writing for City Journal, Mario Polese argues that big cities are more important than ever, and backs up his argument with seven reasons they're luring people, from economies of scale to falling transportation and communication costs.

Nicole Gelinas argues that five years after Hurricane Katrina, the city is on the path to becoming a bona fide urban success story thanks to its determined residents.

Ed Glaeser argues that given the right conditions, start-ups can drive the city's economic future.

Steven Malanga looks at how Newark's Cory Booker and Detroit's Dave Bing are reforming their troubled cities.

Heather Mac Donald defends a contentious law, spurred by frustration over migratory youths in Haight-Ashbury, that would ban sitting or lying on city sidewalks between 7 AM and 11 PM.

Bogotá, Colombia changed public opinion about jaywalking by putting mimes on the street to mock people who crossed illegally. Paul Romer of Stanford looks at other interventions that changed public opinion when laws couldn't.

This article from City Journal suggests that California's much-reviled Proposition 13 limits on increases in property tax is not at fault for the state's crippling fiscal situation.

Edward L. Glaeser says that historic preservation is preserving countless undeserving structures in New York, which is keeping new buildings and affordable housing from getting built.

Le Corbusier's influence as an architect has spanned generations. Theodore Dalrymple argues he is more appropriately classified as a totalitarian.

In contrast to the classic Burnham plea, Andrew M. Manshel says that planning big often misses the essential nature of the urban experience.

Last week, New York Mayor Bloomberg released a plan to reform transit in the city. City Journal looks at how that might happen and how New York can pay for it.