Tag: Trends
The Kinzie bike lane, Chicago’s hipster highway
It was just after 9 a.m. on a weekday when I stopped outside Echelon at K Station for a look at the Kinzie bike lane, which has been called "Chica [...]
A little bit of gentrification levity
A recent Fordham Institute study referenced at Atlantic Cities spotlighted Chicago's 60604 as ranking third among the "fastest gentrifying neighbo [...]
Is Chicago a second-rate city?
Aaron Renn, who styles himself the Urbanophile, poses that question at City Journal and his answer seems to be: "In many ways it's a third-rate ci [...]
Classic contemporary furnishings at Room & Board
My son and I shopped at Room & Board in Skokie nearly 6 years ago when he was setting up his new home in Antioch, but I hadn't been there since.
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New Cook County property tax site will make waves, affect property values
The new Cook County Property Tax Portal has gone live, providing easy online access to a variety of property tax information through a single webs [...]
A dramatic shift in Chicago market conditions in recent weeks
Eight weeks ago there were only 6 neighborhoods on this map that would be considered balanced (4-6 months inventory) and the remainder were decide [...]
Quote of the day – geezer home markdowns and new urbanist buzz
Our quote comes from Walter Russell Mead's rumination on the Millennial generation and housing:
At the end of the day, the nation’s housing st [...]
Where Chicagoans go when they leave
A while back we suggested that all our exes live in Texas, putting a waggish spin on Joel Kotkin's contrast of Texas' cities "growing population, [...]
Two straight lines in Chicago housing report
Compiling market statistics in Chicago neighborhoods has usually meant looking at a lot of jagged (and mostly downward-pointing) lines over the la [...]
Vintage homes outnumber contemporary in Lincoln Park
Chicago streets are lined with contrasts. Neighborhoods offer an architectural smorgasbord of styles, and each style tells a story of the era in w [...]
Should real estate agents be banned from creating neighborhood names?
There's a fascinating piece on the subject of neighborhood names at Atlantic Cities. The article includes an overwrought view of the power of Real [...]
Are we becoming a nation of renters?
The headline on a recent Reuters story at MSNBC giddily announces: America becoming a nation of renters.
Chicago, like a number of major cities [...]
Live the life fully amenitized
A local architect's website expanded my vocabulary today by introducing me to the word "amenitized."
The Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries [...]
Laugh line of the day – oversupply of 28 million detached suburban homes
If you're in search of grotesque flights of fancy you typically need look no further than the latest from the nearest new urbanist.
Here's the [...]
Young city dwellers light out for the territory
Despite the best efforts of urbanists to civilize them into city living, America's young continue to opt for the suburbs, according to Joel Kotkin [...]
The next US boom towns – Chicago’s not one
Over at NewGeography.com Joel Kotkin explores the topic of cities that are "best positioned to grow and prosper in the coming decade."
Of the 5 [...]
Raise high the roof beam, carpenters
Today’s Tribune has a round-up story on new construction trends in ceiling heights.
In every economic downturn I’ve seen, builders have built s [...]
IRS reports Cook County comings and goings
Forbes has published a fascinating interactive map, based on 2008 data from the Internal Revenue Service, that shows the number and per-capita inc [...]
Quote of the day: replacing 1,000 lawyers with one
Last week the New York Times published an article describing the potential impact of advances in computer software on one of the major employment sect [...]
Daley: no reason for middle class to live in Chicago
Mayor Daley warned Friday that Chicago would kiss its middle class goodbye by allowing teachers — or any other public employees — to live outside the [...]