“CITIES ARE ONCE AGAIN AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE U.S. ECONOMY”

ESI President and Principal Dr. Richard Voith and Penn IUR co-director Susan Wachter collaborated to publish the article, “The Return of America’s Cities: Economic Rebound and the Future of America’s Urban Centers” for the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR). The article focuses on the fact that cities are once again an essential part of the U.S. economy. For the first time in decades and for three consecutive years, cities in the United States are growing faster than their surrounding suburbs.

An Excerpt from the Article:

“Nonetheless, after decades of relentless decentralization of urban centers in the U.S., an urban transformation is occurring:  Moving from an industrial to a “knowledge-based” economy, cities are reinventing themselves and becoming magnets for human capital and hubs for innovation. The close proximity offered by dense urban centers enables faster exchange of information and development of new technologies. And at the same time, as has been widely noted, downtowns that offer consumption amenities sought after by highly-skilled, high-income workers, such as restaurants, museums and concerts, are resurgent. This new demand is coupled with the near complete build out of many suburbs, increased transportation costs from congestion and increased development costs in suburban locations. These “push” forces of recentralization are contributing to the repopulation of cities. ” > Read the Full Article Online