All articles by jake blumgart
jake blumgart
Most liveable city: How Vienna earned its place in housing history
The most liveable city in the world for 2023, Vienna once undertook one of the most ambitious public housing programmes ever.
What are land banks and how are they supposed to work?
Land banks let local governments acquire and revitalise abandoned and vacant property – that is, if they can resist the temptation to give elected officials too much power over the process.
Recessions and violent crime don’t go hand in hand
US cities saw a spike in homicides in 2020, but historical data shows that economic conditions don’t offer a simple explanation.
How construction affects nearby house prices
Research addresses a question that’s incredibly difficult to answer and may hold clues to solving the affordable-housing puzzle.
Does upzoning drive new development?
Recent research finds that upzoned land in Portland, Oregon, produced three times as much new housing as parcels that remained unchanged, but overall development remained low.
How Covid is changing the curb
Cities that made it easier to adapt the space between street and sidewalk have learned lessons that could last well beyond the pandemic.
US cities saw a historic homicide increase in 2020
Homicide rates across 34 large US cities increased by 30% last year. If that holds true nationwide, it will eclipse the previous record for a single-year increase.
Why Montréal is doubling down on public transport
The region’s transit agencies were already planning an ambitious expansion before Covid-19. Now infrastructure and service commitments are seen as key to a strong economic recovery.
A US-wide eviction ban could have prevented thousands of Covid deaths
About 1.2 million infections and 164,000 deaths could have been averted in 2020 if the federal government had stopped evictions and utility shut-offs, according to Duke University estimates.
US states need federal assistance regardless of which party they vote for
Republicans are renewing claims that federal aid to states will amount to red states bailing out blue ones. Covid-era budget data shows that’s not the case.