City Journal

City Journal, the quarterly publication from the Manhattan Institute, is probably the most thoughtful magazine published today on urban issues from a conservative perspective.  It does not get nearly enough attention from the mainstream media.  Here are a couple of great articles in the current issue:

• Why Queens Matters, by Steven Malanga.  Being a native son of Queens, it's nice to see an article point out the interesting history and particular economic need of what is now certainly the city's most diverse borough.  The article also offers a particularly intriguing explanation about why residents of Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx address their mail generically (such as Brooklyn, NY) while residents of Queens generally address their mail by neighborhood (such as Forest Hills, NY or Woodside, NY). 

 

• The Housing Reform That Backfired, by Howard Husock outlines the abuses and possible reforms of the so-called "Section 8" housing vouchers that began in 1996 as a reform to failed and crime-ridden public housing projects.  Urban housing issues are usually under Base10's radar (and the article offers an explanation of why--not just for Base10 of course) and this is a really thoughtful piece.

These two pieces jumped out at Base10, but there's plenty of other good stuff.

- posted by Base10 @ 11:41 AM