Urban

Vital City -  [New urban ] worries are rooted in a theory that the postpandemic rise in work-from-home will decimate commercial real estate values, reducing tax collections and forcing cities to cut services, raise taxes or both, accelerating population declines. [The current Vital City issue] features “doom loop” economists Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh and Arpit Gupta offering an update on the state of the commercial real estate market. Harvard economist Ed Glaeser celebrates New York City’s resilience through previous crises. Eileen Markey documents how, in the 1970s, Bronx residents brought their communities back from the brink. And John Roman and Elizabeth Glazer take the long view on crime, taking stock of what we know about reductions in urban violence. In an interview, urbanist Richard Florida explains what makes New York City different from so many of its peers.There are some big new ideas worth serious consideration by policymakers. Majora Carter lays out an agenda for building wealth in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Grace Rauh sketches a plan to make the city more family-friendly. Ingrid Gould Ellen and Vicki Been offer six principles for producing more housing, including more affordable housing. And Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer, Shanta Thake, presents ways to ensure arts and culture reach more New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan, Ben Smith, Avi Schick, Asad Dandia and others explain in intimate personal terms why they’ll probably never leave new York.