The Future of Post-Industrial Cities

As we begin to finally address climate change in a serious way, we need to look at our cities in a serious way. And not just first-tier cities like, well, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles, and not just flashy growing cities like Las Vegas, Austin, Atlanta, and Columbus. We need to look at cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St Louis—cities that haven’t come back from the problems—deindustrialization, disinvestment, white flight—of 50 and 60 years ago. 

These cities are at a crossroads, according to my guest today. They can, he says, enjoy a comeback, stagnate, or continue to decline. There is, in fact, a unique opportunity presented by the pandemic: as working remotely becomes more widely accepted, there could be a migration to cities such as these by people not ready to give up on city life, but looking for greater affordability. 

Matthew Kahn is a Distinguished Professor of Economics and Business at Johns Hopkins University; he’s the Business Director of its 21st Century Cities Initiative; and he’s co-author of a new book that addresses these questions about these very cities, titled Unlocking the Potential of Post-Industrial Cities.