Aaron M. Renn

All Things Aaron

What Is a Global City?

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This post originally ran on August 19, 2012. We hear a lot of talk these days about so-called "global cities." But what is a global city? Saskia Sassen literally wrote the book on global cities back in 2001 (though her global cities work dates back well over a decade prior to that book). She gave a definition that has long struck with me. In short form, in the age of globalization, the activities of production are scattered on a global basis. These complex, globalized production networks require new forms of financial and producer … [Read more...]

Cities Need More Fiscal Supervision By State Governments

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[ When it comes to local affairs, I'm typically in favor of more devolution of powers to local governments, especially larger ones. On the other hand, Detroit's bankruptcy shows that local government can easily make a hash out of things. Stephen Eide makes the case for why states should exercise more not less fiscal supervision over cities - Aaron. ] Four years after the end of the recession, cities’ fiscal outlook remains unpromising (discussions here and here, esp. 53-6). Spending on healthcare and pensions continues to rise faster than … [Read more...]

What Detroit’s Bankruptcy Teaches America

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As has long been expected, the city of Detroit has officially filed for bankruptcy.  While many will point to the sui generis nature of the city as a one-industry town with extreme racial polarization and other unique problems, Detroit’s bankruptcy in fact offers several lessons for other states and municipalities across America. The Day of Reckoning Can Take Much Longer Than We Think to Come What’s most surprising about Detroit’s bankruptcy is not that it happened, but how long it took to get there.   In authorizing the bankruptcy filing … [Read more...]

The End of the Road for Eds and Meds

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This post originally appeared in New Geography on September 12, 2012. In the last few decades, as suburbanization and deindustrialization devastated so many cities, they turned to two sectors that seemed not only immune to decline, but were actually growing: universities and hospitals. The so-called “eds and meds” sectors, often related through university affiliated hospitals, became a great stabilizer for many places. For example, the fabled Cleveland Clinic cushioned the blow of manufacturing decline in that city. Après steel, a city like … [Read more...]

If You Can Repeatedly Close a Freeway For Months At a Time, Do You Really Need It At All?

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Ten years ago state highway officials closed I-65/I-70 in downtown Indianapolis for three months for a rehab project called "Hyperfix." This was expected to cause a "carmageddon," but as we've grown used to many times by now, the expected traffic disaster never materialized: As the start date approached, INDOT and its partners implemented other precautions to ensure smooth traffic flow but soon discovered the additional efforts were unnecessary. For example, the State budgeted $100,000 in overtime for police, mainly to direct traffic downtown. … [Read more...]

The Metropolitan Revolution

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The Metropolitan Revolution by Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley Brookings Institution Press, June 2013 By far the most important thing that the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program has done is educate and advocate for the reality of the metro-centricity of the United States. This might seem obvious from their name, but from the behavior of all too many, this new metro reality is apparently not obvious to most. Lost in the statistics of world urbanization is the fact that the United States is already almost entirely … [Read more...]

Cities Need a “Deaccessioning Policy” for Public Assets

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One of the major controversies following the appointment of Kevyn Orr as emergency financial manager for the city of Detroit has been the exploration of whether or not the art at the city-owned Detroit Institute of the Arts can or should be sold to satisfy creditors in the event of a bankruptcy filing. This obviously sent shock waves of indignation through the community. Following on from that, the Detroit Free Press took a look at what other assets could be on the auction block. In addition to extremely valuable masterpieces by the likes of … [Read more...]

Suburban Blight in Kansas City

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[ This week Eric McAfee takes a look at phenomenon that is on the rise in America today - suburban blight. Early generation suburbs across America are falling into decay, bringing with them all the ills we have traditionally associated with the inner city. Eric highlights an example for us in Kansas City - Aaron. ] Over the past century, the word “blight” has undergone a curious expansion in its denotations. It was originally a botanical term referring to a disease characterized by discoloration, wilting, and eventual death of plant tissues. … [Read more...]

Will Las Vegas’ Downtown Project Succeed?

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This is the second installment in my look at the Las Vegas Downtown Project. In part one I gave an overview of the project and some of the positives and success indicators. On Thursday I looked at some of the commonalities between Vegas and other small cities as a bridge to this installment. And finally today I want to look at some of the challenges I see with the Downtown Project and ask, will it succeed? As for the answer to that question, some of it is a matter of how you define success. At a base level, there's already been success. … [Read more...]