Latest post up at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: Urban geography of the Talent Economy.
Subject Article: "Is Progress Pushing People Out in Buffalo?"
Other Links: 1. "Portland Is Dying."
2. "Sunburn Belt: Legacy Costs Of Sprawl."
3. "Urban Decline in Rust-Belt Cities."
Postscript: The Cleveland Fed uses a term I haven't encountered before, "reverse gentrification." It's normative. Gentrification is good. Reverse gentrification is bad. Are those the only two choices for neighborhoods?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Portland Is Dying
Latest blog post is up at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: Attempting to explain why Portland's labor force dropped by 25,000 people, year-over-year, after years of robust growth.
Subject Article: "Bureau of Labor Unemployment Statistics" for Portland, OR via Annalyn Kurtz.
Other Links: 1. "'Portlandia' Is No Joke: The City 'Where Young People Go To Retire.'"
2. "Seasonally Adjusted (Before 2000: CWIA,Since 2000: BLS) Pittsburgh MSA Labor Force - Monthly January 1970 to September 2012."
3. "Field Of Dreams Portland."
4. "Building Industry Clusters Via Brain Drain."
Postscript: The sensational claim of "x place is dying" stirs up controversy. That is unless we are discussing a Rust Belt city. We intuitively know those places are dying. The contrast between Pittsburgh and Portland is ironic. Concerning the metric of labor force, Portland (not Pittsburgh) is dying.
Theme: Attempting to explain why Portland's labor force dropped by 25,000 people, year-over-year, after years of robust growth.
Subject Article: "Bureau of Labor Unemployment Statistics" for Portland, OR via Annalyn Kurtz.
Other Links: 1. "'Portlandia' Is No Joke: The City 'Where Young People Go To Retire.'"
2. "Seasonally Adjusted (Before 2000: CWIA,Since 2000: BLS) Pittsburgh MSA Labor Force - Monthly January 1970 to September 2012."
3. "Field Of Dreams Portland."
4. "Building Industry Clusters Via Brain Drain."
Postscript: The sensational claim of "x place is dying" stirs up controversy. That is unless we are discussing a Rust Belt city. We intuitively know those places are dying. The contrast between Pittsburgh and Portland is ironic. Concerning the metric of labor force, Portland (not Pittsburgh) is dying.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Geography of Isolation
Link to Pacific Standard magazine blog post.
Theme: Forget density, even educational attainment. Migration is what matters.
Subject Article: "WHAT'S EATING LITTLE PORTUGAL? FORGET AFRICENTRIC SCHOOLS: TORONTO’S PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY HAS THE HIGHEST DROPOUT RATE IN THE CITY."
Other Links: 1. "How Migration Makes the World Brainier."
2. "Naypyidaw-on-Hudson: Isolated capitals are more corrupt."
Postscript: I'm toying with the idea that migration is more important than education. Knowledge transfer makes the world go round. Innovation is a function of geographic mobility.
Theme: Forget density, even educational attainment. Migration is what matters.
Subject Article: "WHAT'S EATING LITTLE PORTUGAL? FORGET AFRICENTRIC SCHOOLS: TORONTO’S PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY HAS THE HIGHEST DROPOUT RATE IN THE CITY."
Other Links: 1. "How Migration Makes the World Brainier."
2. "Naypyidaw-on-Hudson: Isolated capitals are more corrupt."
Postscript: I'm toying with the idea that migration is more important than education. Knowledge transfer makes the world go round. Innovation is a function of geographic mobility.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Silicon Valley Decline
Latest post up at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: As the Innovation Economy diverges, more and more places effectively engage in the war for talent. That's bad news for talent attraction champion Silicon Valley.
Subject Article: "Montreal Is Growing Its Own High-Tech Workers."
Other Links: 1. "International Migration is Projected to Become Primary Driver of U.S. Population Growth for First Time in Nearly Two Centuries."
2. "Shrinking City Myths."
3. "Keep Pittsburgh Weird."
4. "Talent Attraction Crisis."
5. "New Findings: Seasonal Foreign Agricultural Workers Create American Jobs."
6. "The Brain Gain: The Rise of San Antonio’s Talent Economy."
Postscript: The contrast between Portland and Pittsburgh is instructive. For the Innovation Economy, Portland is a winner. It is a magnet for talent. For the Talent Economy, Pittsburgh is a winner. It is a magnet for businesses starved for innovative talent. Talent production is the name to today's game.
Theme: As the Innovation Economy diverges, more and more places effectively engage in the war for talent. That's bad news for talent attraction champion Silicon Valley.
Subject Article: "Montreal Is Growing Its Own High-Tech Workers."
Other Links: 1. "International Migration is Projected to Become Primary Driver of U.S. Population Growth for First Time in Nearly Two Centuries."
2. "Shrinking City Myths."
3. "Keep Pittsburgh Weird."
4. "Talent Attraction Crisis."
5. "New Findings: Seasonal Foreign Agricultural Workers Create American Jobs."
6. "The Brain Gain: The Rise of San Antonio’s Talent Economy."
Postscript: The contrast between Portland and Pittsburgh is instructive. For the Innovation Economy, Portland is a winner. It is a magnet for talent. For the Talent Economy, Pittsburgh is a winner. It is a magnet for businesses starved for innovative talent. Talent production is the name to today's game.
Suburban Chic
Tuesday post for Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: Suburban brownfields are the new greenfields.
Subject Article: "In Poor Margins of Paris, New Recipe for Success Is Local."
Other Links: 1. "Cleveland's old Slovenian neighborhood eyes a popup revival."
2. "Our Story."
3. "Rust Belt Reboot Has Downtown Cleveland Rocking."
4. "Rust Belt Chic Paris."
Postscript: The "Soft City" has moved from London to the suburbs of Seattle. Whereas the urban environment has been suburbanized. The loss of the romantic Soft City ideal is lamented. If you want the urban frontier, you'll find it in places such as Lakewood.
Theme: Suburban brownfields are the new greenfields.
Subject Article: "In Poor Margins of Paris, New Recipe for Success Is Local."
Other Links: 1. "Cleveland's old Slovenian neighborhood eyes a popup revival."
2. "Our Story."
3. "Rust Belt Reboot Has Downtown Cleveland Rocking."
4. "Rust Belt Chic Paris."
Postscript: The "Soft City" has moved from London to the suburbs of Seattle. Whereas the urban environment has been suburbanized. The loss of the romantic Soft City ideal is lamented. If you want the urban frontier, you'll find it in places such as Lakewood.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Captive Labor Markets and Migration
Latest post over at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: How declining geographic mobility in the United States is creating captive labor markets.
Subject Article: "Why aren’t Americans moving anymore? Here’s a new theory."
Other Links: 1. "Rethinking post-national citizenship: The relationship between state territory and international human rights law."
2. "Parochial Pittsburgh Meets Global Pittsburgh."
3. "Assessing the Impact of Location on Women's Labor Market Outcomes: A Methodological Exploration."
4. "Benefits of Bowling Alone."
5. "Mobility Paradox."
Postscript: The most geographically mobile do not need labor unions to take on management. Migration economically empowers individuals, people. Whereas tethering a person to a place is social injustice. Policies aimed at plugging the brain drain are wrong.
Theme: How declining geographic mobility in the United States is creating captive labor markets.
Subject Article: "Why aren’t Americans moving anymore? Here’s a new theory."
Other Links: 1. "Rethinking post-national citizenship: The relationship between state territory and international human rights law."
2. "Parochial Pittsburgh Meets Global Pittsburgh."
3. "Assessing the Impact of Location on Women's Labor Market Outcomes: A Methodological Exploration."
4. "Benefits of Bowling Alone."
5. "Mobility Paradox."
Postscript: The most geographically mobile do not need labor unions to take on management. Migration economically empowers individuals, people. Whereas tethering a person to a place is social injustice. Policies aimed at plugging the brain drain are wrong.
Shrinking City Myths
Late Sunday night musings for Pacific Standard.
Theme: Making better sense of Rust Belt demography.
Subject Article: "Rust-Belt Reaches for Immigrant Tide."
Other Links: 1. "Mayor of Rust."
2. "Braddock."
Postscript: Shrinking cities in an age of global aging demographics should focus on quality instead of quantity. The obsession with population numbers is an artifact of another era, a dying mesofact.
Theme: Making better sense of Rust Belt demography.
Subject Article: "Rust-Belt Reaches for Immigrant Tide."
Other Links: 1. "Mayor of Rust."
2. "Braddock."
Postscript: Shrinking cities in an age of global aging demographics should focus on quality instead of quantity. The obsession with population numbers is an artifact of another era, a dying mesofact.
Restaurant Talent Migration
Last Friday's post at Pacific Standard.
Theme: How migration and knowledge transfer have transformed Pittsburgh's dining scene.
Subject Article: "Replanting the Rust Belt."
Other Links: 1. "Chef appeal: Pittsburgh's growing restaurant scene attracts staff from bigger cities."
2. "Spoon, Salt land DC dining heavyweights."
3. "Warning: Your reality is out of date. Introducing the mesofact."
4. "Brain gain in rural Minnesota."
Postscript: Where am I going with this post? The diffusion of pork butcher technologies from Germany to England. Innovation depends on migration.
Theme: How migration and knowledge transfer have transformed Pittsburgh's dining scene.
Subject Article: "Replanting the Rust Belt."
Other Links: 1. "Chef appeal: Pittsburgh's growing restaurant scene attracts staff from bigger cities."
2. "Spoon, Salt land DC dining heavyweights."
3. "Warning: Your reality is out of date. Introducing the mesofact."
4. "Brain gain in rural Minnesota."
Postscript: Where am I going with this post? The diffusion of pork butcher technologies from Germany to England. Innovation depends on migration.
Cuba’s Talent Export Strategy
Catching up on my Pacific Standard blogging, leveraging Cuban brain drain.
Theme: Thinking about what a talent export economy looks like.
Subject Article: "Cuba's greatest export? Medical diplomacy."
Postscript: The Cuban example is troubling. Is medical talent able to come and go to Brazil? Captive labor? Slave labor? Human trafficking? Cuba doesn't own its talent. The country acts like it does.
Theme: Thinking about what a talent export economy looks like.
Subject Article: "Cuba's greatest export? Medical diplomacy."
Postscript: The Cuban example is troubling. Is medical talent able to come and go to Brazil? Captive labor? Slave labor? Human trafficking? Cuba doesn't own its talent. The country acts like it does.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Benefits of Bowling Alone
Latest blog post at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: Too much social capital impedes geographic mobility.
Subject Article: "Study: Higher levels of homeownership can kill jobs."
Other Links: 1. "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community."
2. "Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: Civic Infrastructure and Mobilization in Economic Crises."
3. "Adecco chief calls for EU jobseekers to be more ‘mobile’."
4. "What Workers Lose By Staying Put."
5. "Heliocentric America."
6. "Does High Home-Ownership Impair the Labor Market?"
7. "Chicago’s Yearning Years: A Conversation with ‘The Third Coast’ Author Thomas Dyja."
Postscript: The subject article link does not appear in the blog post. But that post did inspire my digression. I am building up to the thesis that economic globalization is only possible with less social capital. Globalization favors those who can operate in an environment with less social capital (i.e. migrants). Globalization punishes the parochial.
Theme: Too much social capital impedes geographic mobility.
Subject Article: "Study: Higher levels of homeownership can kill jobs."
Other Links: 1. "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community."
2. "Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: Civic Infrastructure and Mobilization in Economic Crises."
3. "Adecco chief calls for EU jobseekers to be more ‘mobile’."
4. "What Workers Lose By Staying Put."
5. "Heliocentric America."
6. "Does High Home-Ownership Impair the Labor Market?"
7. "Chicago’s Yearning Years: A Conversation with ‘The Third Coast’ Author Thomas Dyja."
Postscript: The subject article link does not appear in the blog post. But that post did inspire my digression. I am building up to the thesis that economic globalization is only possible with less social capital. Globalization favors those who can operate in an environment with less social capital (i.e. migrants). Globalization punishes the parochial.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Third Coast Diaspora
Latest blog post at Pacific Standard magazine.
Theme: Ironic outmigration from global cities such as New York and Chicago.
Subject Article: "Chicago’s Yearning Years: A Conversation with ‘The Third Coast’ Author Thomas Dyja."
Other Links: 1. "Beware the 'Density Cult'."
Postscript: I think my references to the density cult are misunderstood because the impacts of urban density are uncritically accepted as the gospel truth. Chicago is not a great city because it is dense. Chicago is a great city because so many people living there hail from someplace else. To quantify it, read this paper about "Birthplace Diversity and Economic Prosperity."
Theme: Ironic outmigration from global cities such as New York and Chicago.
Subject Article: "Chicago’s Yearning Years: A Conversation with ‘The Third Coast’ Author Thomas Dyja."
Other Links: 1. "Beware the 'Density Cult'."
Postscript: I think my references to the density cult are misunderstood because the impacts of urban density are uncritically accepted as the gospel truth. Chicago is not a great city because it is dense. Chicago is a great city because so many people living there hail from someplace else. To quantify it, read this paper about "Birthplace Diversity and Economic Prosperity."
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