This is the first in a series of three entries on thriving downtowns in the largest 100 U.S. cities.  This post focuses on growth rates of downtown population and jobs. The second post looks at the growth of downtown jobs and population in each city, but will focus on absolute numbers instead of percentages.  The third post focuses on each downtown’s importance to its respective urban region. The Importance of Downtown Almost always, downtowns are the most important part of cities and urban … [Read more...]

Below is the story (professional and personal) behind urbanSCALE’s creation. urbanSCALE’s Early Roots urbanSCALE’s roots go all the way back to the 1980s and 1990s when I was a kid growing up in Lubbock, TX.  Was it nature or nurture?  I don’t really know, but I’ll bet that the two jumbo-sized laminated wall maps that my parents placed in my bedroom – one of the United States and another of the world – had something to do with it.  For as long as I can remember, I have had an infinite … [Read more...]