A Series of Essays on the Urban Future

The Future of Cities

Over five millennia, through pestilence, war, economic dislocation, and mass migrations, cities have demonstrated their essential resiliency. Yet at the same time, they have many times been transformed—becoming bigger, denser, and then less dense; shifting from having a walking- to a transit-based culture; and then moving on to be auto-dependent and, now, having a new pattern based increasingly on digital commuting.

This book has been published as a series, with permission of the American Enterprise Institute. Below is the book outline and a link to each chapter.

Click or tap a link below to read or download each chapter. (PDFs open in new tab or window)

Conclusion: Urban Futures – Joel Kotkin (new this week)


Joel Kotkin is the author of The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class. He is the Roger Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and Executive Director for Urban Reform Institute. Learn more at joelkotkin.com and follow him on Twitter @joelkotkin.

Read the Series:

Introduction: Welcome to the Urban Future – Joel Kotkin

I. The Big Picture for Global Geography

American Aspiration is Metropolitan – Ryan Streeter

The Urban Future: The Great Dispersion – Wendell Cox

The Future of the Big American City is Not Bright – Samuel J. Abrams

II. The Variety of Urban Experiences

The Future of Chinese Cities – Li Sun

Africa’s Urban Future – Hügo Krüger and Bheki Mahlobo

Recalibrating Expectations: Lessons from Youngstown, Ohio – Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo

Indianapolis – Aaron M. Renn

The Texas Triangle: An Emerging Metropolitan Model in the Lone Star State – J. H. Cullum Clark

The Evolution of New York City Politics – Harry Siegel

California’s Inland Empire: Harbinger of the New Multiracial Suburb – Celia López del Río and Karla López del Río

III. The Policy Agenda

Housing Unaffordability: How We Got There and What to Do About It – Tobias Peter and Edward J. Pinto

False Dawn: The Future of Work and Cities After the Illusions of Globalization – Michael Lind

A New Path for Black Urban Voters? – Charles Blain

Utah and Salt Lake City Policy Innovations in Homelessness, Poverty, and Health – Natalie Gochnour

Next-Generation American Suburbs – Alan M. Berger

Conclusion: Urban Futures – Joel Kotkin