Is Chicago an Outlier?
Most cold cities have not performed great over the last 30 years. What is it about New York City, Boston and Chicago relative to other cities such as Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. How do we explain why the former set have boomed relative to the second set?
My future colleague Dan Drezner provides some exciting analysis here.
http://www.danieldrezner.com/archives/002638.html
I was born in Chicago. I lived in NYC from 1973-1984. I lived in chicago from 1988 to 1993 and I've lived in Boston from 1996 to 1998 and from 2000 until now so I think I have some street credibility on this subject.
1. Michael Jordan changed the course of Chicago transforming it into a "cool" city.
2. Boston, NYC and Chicago all have serious Universities nestled in them this provides a constant source of intellectuals and serious young people flowing into these cities
3. NYC and Chicago are immigrant hotbeds and this fosters the Jane Jacobs diversity element.
4. Boston, NYC and Chicago are all cold but they strike me as "green cities" where there are many communities with high quality of life.
Ed Glaeser has posted to his harvard webpage historical essays on the long run dynamics of Boston and New York City. You should read these papers if you want details on the long run cycles for these cities.
If education is the key to local economic growth, then Boston, Chicago and NYC's success has been based on attracting and retaining the high skilled to live their lives in these cold cities. Quality of life and economic opportunity play a key role here in achieving these goals.
My future colleague Dan Drezner provides some exciting analysis here.
http://www.danieldrezner.com/archives/002638.html
I was born in Chicago. I lived in NYC from 1973-1984. I lived in chicago from 1988 to 1993 and I've lived in Boston from 1996 to 1998 and from 2000 until now so I think I have some street credibility on this subject.
1. Michael Jordan changed the course of Chicago transforming it into a "cool" city.
2. Boston, NYC and Chicago all have serious Universities nestled in them this provides a constant source of intellectuals and serious young people flowing into these cities
3. NYC and Chicago are immigrant hotbeds and this fosters the Jane Jacobs diversity element.
4. Boston, NYC and Chicago are all cold but they strike me as "green cities" where there are many communities with high quality of life.
Ed Glaeser has posted to his harvard webpage historical essays on the long run dynamics of Boston and New York City. You should read these papers if you want details on the long run cycles for these cities.
If education is the key to local economic growth, then Boston, Chicago and NYC's success has been based on attracting and retaining the high skilled to live their lives in these cold cities. Quality of life and economic opportunity play a key role here in achieving these goals.
posted by Matthew Kahn at 5:35 PM
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