Home prices rose everywhere

Are rising prices in Kalamazoo a symptom of “climate refugees” moving to the cool, Rust Belt uplands? That’s a hypothesis put forward by a friend who works in the climate-insurance-housing cost nexus. It’s a…

Hot takes and Pensées, #UEA2025

Exterior staircases, Montreal

I frequently reference my post summarizing the interesting research at last year’s Urban Economics Association conference. This year was as insight rich as ever. And the Montreal setting was truly special – it’s a…

Transformation

I walked down the 400 block of K St with an international guest last night. It was hard to describe the transformation of the street. Google Streetview, however, has been there almost since the…

The good old days weren’t so good

Preservationists treat pre-1950 architecture as “historic” and irreplaceable, while often criticizing new building on a variety of aesthetic grounds. In his new book The Unfinished Metropolis, Benjamin Schneider points out that today’s historic buildings…