Just over a month ago, as North America was beginning its lockdown, the Europeans were the ones showing us how to stay sane in quarantine through balcony orchestras and viral internet videos. Now we’re looking to them for how best to reopen the economy and… Read More
Very few of us have a mental model for the macro conditions that we are living through right now. We have been through economic downturns, but most of us haven’t lived through a pandemic. I am an optimist and I know that we will get… Read More
The Financial Times published the following chart last night. It shows the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases around the world, across the number of days since the 100th case in that particular country. The message here is that most western countries appear to be on… Read More
In 2017, the US restaurant industry generated about $560 billion in annual revenue. By comparison, the movie industry generates some $30 billion a year. Food, and eating out, is a big business. A recent paper by Joel Waldgogel of the University of Minnesota has tried… Read More
Venice has been keeping flood records for 150 years, though it is generally understood that the city has been regularly flooding since the very beginning. It usually happens between the fall and the spring and the earliest record is believed to be from the 6th… Read More
A few years ago I wrote a post talking about “depression babies.” In it, I cited a research paper that looked at the impact of macroeconomic shocks on people’s willingness to take on financial risk in the future. The term “depression babies” stems from the… Read More
In business we are told to listen to our customers. Be customer-centric. In city building we are told to listen to the community. Be community-focused. And there’s no question that these mantras exist for a reason. They are paramount. But when should you not listen?… Read More
Gangi, Palermo – Sicily by Claudio Siragusa on 500px https://500px.com/embed.js Buy real estate. It always goes up. That’s the mantra, right? Few things in life are that black and white. A small town in Sicily called Gangi is in the midst of a novel urban… Read More
In keeping with the recent theme about cities, their brands, and the messages they send, I thought I would revisit an old essay (2008) written by Paul Graham (of Y-Combinator) called “Cities and Ambition.” In it, he talks about the various messages that cities send… Read More
Earlier today I stumbled upon a documentary called “The Human Scale.” I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m planning to rent it from iTunes later this weekend. Here’s the trailer. Click here if you can’t see it below. One of the things that’s so fascinating… Read More
