7 Comments
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John Brewton's avatar

Cities reveal themselves when you spend time on the ground.

Bradley Schurman's avatar

Absolutely! The data guides us, but the on-the-ground observations tell the real story

Dr. Michael Meneghini's avatar

Prosperity is layered. The cities planning ahead will outlast the headwinds.

Bradley Schurman's avatar

I couldn’t say it better myself

Gregory's avatar

Adam Tooze first chart in a recent substack is interesting. Those small blue (high GDP per capita) in west Texas are the Permian Basis oil & gas areas.

https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/top-links-1015-americas-economic

Lynne Murphy-Rivera's avatar

Fascinating observation about sidewalks and how they signal trust and social ties, necessary for economic growth.

Bradley Schurman's avatar

Basic infrastructure tells a lot about a city and whether it's willing to position itself for prosperity. Sidewalks, which people often take for granted in cities such as New York, create weak ties that can foster dynamism. There's a reason why walkable places historically outperform more car-dependent places.