Richard Reeves explains the factors that limit or assist social mobility for people born into the lowest economic quintile in American society.
Richard V. Reeves of the Brookings Institution sums up some of his recent findings in a short Youtube video titled "Is America Dreaming?: Understanding Social Mobility," published yesterday. Using Lego blocks and figures, he demonstrates some of the qualities and factors that inhibit or help social mobility, and discusses how these relate to inequality and opportunity.
Reeves explains how American society is top-heavy in terms of economic wealth, the bottom quintile receive five percent of the money while the top quintile receives 52 percent. To understand American economic fairness, which Reeve defines as an individual's ability to advance from the bottom quintile, Reeves analyzes mobility for specific groups in the lower quintile's population: black Americans, white Americans, unmarried parents, married parents, high school dropouts, and college graduates.
Hat tip to Robert Puentes for sharing the video.
Read the full story: Is America Dreaming?: Understanding Social Mobility
Walkable Neighborhoods Set the Stage for Upward Mobility, Study Says
New research out of the University of Virginia makes the case for walkable neighborhoods as incubators of economic mobility.
Report: Which American Cities Are the Most Unequal
According to Brookings, this research is intended to inform local debates over the minimum wage. Drawing on Census data, the report finds that astronomical income gains are still concentrated among the biggest cities.
The Neighborhood Effect: How Place Impacts Upward Mobility
A new blog post from Jonathan Rothwell discusses the impact of neighborhoods on upward mobility.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
This road in NYC is infamously dangerous — and Mamdani can't fix it
New York City's Ocean Parkway is known for reckless driving, but the power to implement safety measures lies with the state rather than the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority