Michael Duffy, host of 'Counterpoint' on Australia's Radio National, interviews Joel Kotkin about Richard Florida's creative class theory and Kotkin's new book, "The City: A Global History."
From the interview transcript:
"Michael Duffy: What's necessary for a city to thrive and to do the things you've just said that they do so well? To put it another way, what are the main reasons that cities can fail?
Joel Kotkin : I think one of the big reasons cities fail is they don't deal with the basics. One of the things that was very attractive about some of these theories recently is that...well, we'll be hip and cool, we'll build some lofts and we'll have a cultural museum...I can't tell you the 'rust belt' cities that are absolutely dying and they put $250 million into an art museum. Newark, New Jersey, did it, and then 'Oh my God! We have an art museum and it's great and nobody wants to come'. So you've got to take care of the basics; you've got to have jobs, you've got to have good neighbourhoods, you've got to have good schools, you've got to have decent infrastructure. And I think mayors basically are lazy, many of them, and they say, 'Well, I'm going to be hip and cool and I'm going to build an art museum and I'm going to have a little Potemkin Village and everyone's going to say wow, what a great town I have.' Meanwhile, the place could be falling apart, and we see that a lot more in the United States than here in Australia.
Thanks to Wendell Cox
FULL STORY: Shape of our cities

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions