Urban America

Closer, but No Cigar

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Anticipating a new era of engagement with Cuba When President Obama signed the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill into law on March 11, he took a small step towards what many hope will be a new era in U.S.-Cuban relations. Embedded in the bill were three clauses that loosened sanctions on family travel and remittances, a … Read more

Cities Without Limits

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How long-term factors drive municipal economies In May 2008, the city of Vallejo, Calif. became the first urban victim of the global financial crisis when it filed for Chapter Nine bankruptcy, the first Californian city ever to do so. Defending this decision, Vallejo’s mayor argued that a weak economy caused by the bursting of the … Read more

Big Aspirations, Smaller Results

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How much have Texan oilmen shaped America? Reporter Brian Burrough follows his last corporate epic, Barbarians at the Gate, with a new book, The Big Rich, replacing skyscrapers and three piece suits with oil wells and Stetson hats. It is a sprawling story set across several continents, chronicling gumption, love, betrayal, politics, family squabbles, and … Read more

Beyond the Achievement Gap

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Richard Rothstein on the challenges facing American education Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a former national education columnist of The New York Times. Harvard Political Review: What is right with American education today? Richard Rothstein: Well, that’s a very difficult question to answer. There are an untold number … Read more

A New Approach to a Chronic Issue

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Affordable housing in uncertain times About 12 million Americans spend more than half of their annual income on rent or mortgage, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Affordable housing is of particular concern in urban centers, due to high population densities and costs of living. Even after the collapse of the … Read more