Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Economic Dynamism
Published on
Feb 3, 2026
Contributors
Joel Kotkin

Downtowns are dying, but we know how to save them

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary

Even those who yearn to visit or live in a walkable, dense neighborhood are not going to flock to a place surrounded by a grim urban dystopia.

Summary

Even those who yearn to visit or live in a walkable, dense neighborhood are not going to flock to a place surrounded by a grim urban dystopia.

Listen to this article

For decades, Los Angeles business and political figures have focused their attention on creating a sleek, vibrant downtown. The common thought, as the late Eli Broad suggested, has been, “a great city needs a great downtown.”

This notion of a revived downtown is still embraced by booster groups and the Urban Land Institute. Yet despite the huge investment in such things as the convention center, Crypto.com Arena and a downtown-centric subway system, the core remains more dystopic than great.

Read the full article in the Los Angeles Times.

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations Turns 250

Economic Dynamism
Mar 13, 2026

Oil, War, and Peace

Politics
Mar 12, 2026
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Economic Dynamism

London and the Architecture of Creative Growth

Preserving London's creative dynamism will require humility from policymakers and a commitment to keeping the city liveable.

Munira Mirza
Economic Dynamism
Mar 10, 2026
Do Dynamic Societies Leave Workers Behind Economically?

We need a more dynamic economy that can help workers by allowing them to move where they can best use their skills.

Sam Dumitriu
Economic Dynamism
Mar 3, 2026
Do Dynamic Societies Leave Workers Behind Culturally?

Technological change is undoubtedly raising profound metaphysical questions, and thinking clearly about them may be more consequential than ever.

Economic Dynamism
Feb 17, 2026
The War on Disruption

The only way we can challenge stagnation is by attacking the underlying narratives. What today’s societies need is a celebration of messiness.

Economic Dynamism
Feb 9, 2026
No items found.
The Myth of the Post-Industrial Economy

The time for an industrial renaissance is now.

Joel Kotkin
Economic Dynamism
Feb 28, 2026
The Housing Crisis

Soaring housing costs are driving young people towards socialism—only dispersed development and expanded property ownership can preserve liberal democracy.

Economic Dynamism
Jan 8, 2026
America Needs a Transcontinental Railroad

A proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would foster efficiencies, but opponents say the deal would kill competition.

Economic Dynamism
Jan 5, 2026
America’s great migration

The young and ambitious are fleeing the stagnant coastal states for the booming heartland.

Economic Dynamism
Dec 21, 2025

Is Scientific Progress Best Achieved Through Publicly Funded Research Initiatives?

Economic Dynamism
Feb 19, 2026
1:05

18% Poverty Rate in the World's 4th Largest Economy | Joel Kotkin

Economic Dynamism
Jan 27, 2026
1:05

Michael Toth | A Coast-to-Coast Railroad for America

Economic Dynamism
Jan 9, 2026
1:05

Neo-Feudalism: Tech Oligarchs and the Secular "Clerisy"

Economic Dynamism
Oct 20, 2025
1:05

Unlocking Housing Supply: Market-Driven Solutions for Growing Communities

Economic Dynamism
Sep 30, 2025
1:05
The Hidden Costs of Expanding Deposit Insurance

Expanding deposit insurance will only exacerbate financial risk and regulatory dependence, imposing costs on banks, their customers, and taxpayers. 

Daniel J. Smith
Economic Dynamism
Nov 7, 2025
No items found.
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations Turns 250

"On the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" was published this month in 1776.

Graham McAleer
Economic Dynamism
Mar 13, 2026
AI Needs Consumer Choice, Not Bureaucratic Control

The regulatory approach treats consumer AI as a problem to be solved rather than as another service best left to a competitive, dynamic market to provide consumers with autonomy and choice.

Economic Dynamism
Mar 3, 2026
The Start-Up Paradox: The Coming Red Shift in Innovation

Despite London's success, the future of innovation is securely in American hands for the foreseeable future. 

Arthur Herman
Economic Dynamism
Feb 26, 2026
Oren Cass's Bad Timing

Cass’s critique misses the most telling point about today’s economy: U.S. companies are on top because they consistently outcompete their global rivals.

Michael Toth
Economic Dynamism
Feb 18, 2026
No items found.