We all know the saying “as goes Texas, so goes the nation.” That may be more true than ever before.

If you’re really looking for a bellwether state that offers a glimpse into the country’s economic future and engines of growth, It’s Texas.

​T​he future of work​ has significant implications for talent, downtowns, and cities​.​

Steven Pedigo interviews Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and Fort Worth Mayor Maddie Parker.

A dwindling GOP power base is passing laws out of step with the state’s changing demographics.

Steven Pedigo joins his LBJ School colleague Jeremi Suri to discuss the 2020 Census results.

Our diverse big cities and suburbs are driving the state forward.

The big four Texas metro areas alone now account for nearly 70% of the state’s population.

This is the time for Arkansas to commit to transformational economic development.

Project Connect will be transformational to Austin’s future.

Remote work can work for cities of all sizes, if ecosystems are created.

People are moving to smaller cities, like Austin, and bigger homes.

The voice of urban and metro Texas has been sliced and diced.

Businesses are no longer keeping quiet about legislative priorities, as consumers push for action.

If the Austin is late to the land acquisition game, it may get less bang for its buck.

As one of the most desirable U.S. destinations, Scottsdale requires a deliberate growth strategy.

Fueled by urban and metro growth, the Sunbelt is gaining steam, but ignoring its cities.

Salmon Arm is a “Small City with Big Ideas” – an emerging innovation hub with unmatched quality of place.

Steven Pedigo joins Beto O’Rourke and other LBJ School faculty to discuss President Biden’s ambitious agenda.

At UT’s Energy Week, Steven Pedigo leads a discussion about the impact and opportunity for an energy transition.

​Investments in​ transit, housing, and opportunity creation are key for an equitable future. 

At the LBJ Presidential Library, Steven Pedigo talks with urban policymakers about the future of cities.

Cities and suburbs are Texas these days. Here’s a plan for future prosperity.

Texas must forge innovative partnerships to address the challenges facing its cities.

As policymakers look to accelerate the Texas economy, they must depend on investments in Texas cities.

Texas’s leaders must recognize that Texas is a metropolitan state with a highly developed 21st century economy.

Texas in the 21st century is a story of steep urban growth. We must address our metropolitan challenges.

Texas is a metropolitan state. It needs a metropolitan policy agenda to drive competitiveness and prosperity.

A profile featuring the my IC2 funded research aimed helping small towns rethink economic development.

Texas is an urban and metro state; it’s time to reimagine our growth model.

LBJ faculty, Catherine Weaver, Patrick Bixler, and Will Inboden, join Steven Pedigo to discuss global challenges.

The pandemic changed the world. As a result, LYH has reset its strategy for creating opportunity.

Economic experts James Galbraith, Michael Lind, and Martin Luby join Steven Pedigo to talk flexible funding.

The innovation economy has high levels of inequality; this means we have deploy guardrails.

Texas is going through all these same issues that California and New York have had. We’re just late to the party.

Steven Pedigo talks with LBJ professors Wasem and Deitch about COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable populations.

Steven Pedigo talks with Dr. Michael Hole and Professor Sherri Greenberg about healthy communities.

As leaders look for ways to stimulate growth, they should embrace strategies centered on resiliency and inclusivity.

Steven Pedigo is joined by policy expert Don Kettl and historian Jeremi Suri to talk about leadership in a post-Trump world.

Portland boasts a strong foundation to maintain the value of intentional growth.

Steven Pedigo joins Richard Florida for a conversation about the post-pandemic city.

Public private partnerships are essential for opening our cities again, especially when it comes to the vaccine rollout.

Public-private partnerships will be key to getting the United States out of the pandemic.

As painful as this year has been, it has given us an incredible opportunity to remake our cities and towns.

Steven Pedigo moderates a CityNation Place panel discussion outlining best practices in place branding for rural areas.

Yes, our cities will survive. How cities can back even stronger after the pandemic.

Steven Pedigo joined KVUE to talk about the two transit propositions on the ballot.

Steven Pedigo shares how communities outside urban areas can re-think development practices.

Steven Pedigo joins NPR’s Marketplace for a discussion on what the Amazon hiring frenzy means for cities.

Texas is growing, but it’s all in metro. It’s not in rural anymore; rural population is declining. It is a metro state.

Steven Pedigo spoke to Austin’s NPR KUT about the city’s plan to combat displacement.

How will cities adjust to a new normal? Steven Pedigo joins NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Dean Sam Chandan for a one-on-one about post-pandemic urban resilience.

Texas needs a post-COVID playbook to achieve a full, equitable recovery for all Texans.

What are the challenges of managing America’s second fastest-growing city? Steven Pedigo interviews San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

The Best Cities Podcast, hosted by Chris Fair and Steven Pedigo, explores America’s best cities.

LBJ Professor Steven Pedigo interviews James Fallows about his book Our Towns and the future of free speech in cities and on college campuses.

Two Texas anchors, the University of Texas and the University of Houston, step up to help the state strategize about its future.

How will the future of a “contactless city” shape how we live, work and play? How will we create community in the future?

Steven Pedigo interviews urbanists Richard Florida and Joel Kotkin about the future of cities and their suburbs at the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival.

The ultimate challenge is to make our communities stronger, more resilient, and more equitable.

This toolkit will help policymakers put the issue of equitable, resilient  community development back on the national agenda.

As America looks to the future, President Johnson’s half-century-old dream of a great urban society is more relevant than ever. If we are to build it, it must rest on four pillars.

COVID-19 presents great challenges to Northwest Arkansas (NWA) as it does to every other community, but the region is in strong standing to weather this global pandemic.

Newark has the potential to become the commercial/innovation hub for central and north New Jersey. But, it will require   a strategic and intentional action plan.

For Kendall County/ Boerne, Texas to attain high-quality economic growth, it must strengthen and diversify its economic base, shifting it as much as possible to export industries.

Diversifying Coeur d’Alene’s economic base beyond  tourism industry is critical to sustain the health of community.

Coronavirus has revealed weaknesses in the Texas economy that we must address.

How we approach the challenge of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will define the Texas that we live in going forward.

Austin has found new ways to demonstrate our ingenuity and pride. We are the creative capital of Texas.

A ten-point plan for how economic development officials can ready their communities for recovery.

Steven Pedigo interviews Waterloo Conservancy CEO Peter Mullan about the future of public space.

Steven Pedigo interviews State Senator Sarah Eckhardt about the need for a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aftermath of the pandemic is not a future where we live farther apart.

We must begin now to prepare for our new normal.

Steven Pedigo and  Richard Florida discuss what’s needed to restart our communities.

As cities focus on health resources to cope with the pandemic, economic developers must prepare communities to safely reopen.

What we do over the next 12 to 18 months can ensure that our city and metro economies get up and running again while protecting themselves against similar scenarios in the future

Cities, large and small, require a clear road map—one that both builds opportunity and catalyzes community growth.

With an innovation blueprint, Texas’s rural communities can emerge as centers of entrepreneurship.

The rollout in some cities has been rocky. We’ve had safety issues. We’ve had too many scooters in some cities.

Steven Pedigo interviews NYC Deputy Mayor Alicia Glenn about what’s needed for more resilient cities.

Investing in a more sustainable and equitable future will give Texas even more reason for pride.

The key to turning around rural communities around is to double down on local knowledge and the practice of “homemaking.”

Philadelphia has the opportunity to be a national and global model for a more-inclusive prosperity.

Climate change is upon us, and Texas is feeling its effects. Texas has a choice, which is to lead or be led.

The city can’t solve a problem it can’t define. If Austin wants to seriously address homelessness, that has to change.

Smaller communities like Prince George must identify the industries that make them unique, while continuing to invest in improving quality of place.

Denver can forge a new path for inclusive innovation and become a model for other cities around to follow.

Texas’s cities present a major challenge, but they also represent an incredible opportunity for innovation that could have an impact that resonates far beyond its borders.

Despite the region’s rapid growth and rising tech ecosystem, greater Miami lags on educated, creative class talent.

Rather than treating them as the enemy, cities should collaborate with developers. Together, they can build the cities of the future.

The groundwork is in place for a potential world-class innovation cluster in the White Flint area. The next step is to give it the tools it needs to succeed.

Stayton values its residents, history, downtown, and natural beauty.  Here’s a strategy for building even greater opportunity.

The Village of Ruidoso, New Mexico is an established destination for tourists and visitors.  But, what strategy is needed to grow its economy for local residents?

Big Sky is not a place where it’s business as usual.

The world is abuzz with talk of a mobility revolution. But how much of that is hype, and how much is reality in Miami?

If you want to protect the creative class and make sure that they’re invested in a community and can stay put in a community, home ownership is the way to do that.

Inclusive prosperity suggests that equity and affordability concerns are central to a city’s development, and points to models of success in business and government.

Miami has beautiful weather, a thriving economy, and a unique culture. But the fruits of the region’s prosperity have not been evenly shared.

Amazon’s nullification of plans to build a second headquarters in New York holds lessons for urban economic development.

Miami faces a severe crisis of housing unaffordability, reinforcing the region’s high level of economic inequality. Six in 10 employed adult residents of Miami are housing cost-burdened.

Cities large and small are stepping up their efforts to combat climate change and cope with its impact. There’s much that they can do.

With Amazon’s search for its second headquarters or “HQ2” finally over, it’s time for Greater Miami to get back to the business of building its own economy.

Economic development 101 is about telling your story to the right stakeholders and having a clear message about who you are and what you are and what your value proposition is.

Cities have to address questions about safety and congestion, including where scooters will be parked and stored. It can’t just be the Wild West.

Just as cities partner with industry in other sectors, calculated, careful, regulated partnerships for scooters hold the most promise.

Steven Pedigo joins the Better Places podcast to share his insights on trends in placemaking,

When a metro grows to over three million residents and has no regional transit system, it becomes stuck.

Looking toward strategic, deliberate innovation and inclusivity, small and mid-sized cities can become innovation centers that last.

The evolution of Jersey City is a case study in how other small and medium-sized cities can build themselves into tech hubs.

Over the past decade Jersey City has morphed, undergoing a transformation into an emerging hub for tech and economic growth.

Venture capital activity today is concentrated in a set of urban hubs worldwide.  Here’s what it means for the U.S.

The changing geographic landscape of startups and venture capital promises to shift the global economy.

Today’s local governments are placing inclusion at the top of their agendas and private anchor institutions—and their developers—need to as well.

Though traditional developers and policymakers have long viewed inequality as a byproduct of economic development, the tide is now changing. Here’s how.

For inclusive prosperity to be successful, it must combine the knowledge and resources of local government, anchors, and community members.

In today’s knowledge economy, it is no longer enough for cities to provide residents with opportunities for economic mobility; there has to be more.

Smaller cities require a deliberate strategy for competing for new investment and talent.

Through its implementation, this Blueprint will transform Lynchburg into a coveted destination to live and work, where every resident has an opportunity to thrive.

If Las Vegas doesn’t build some buffer around its economy it will always be a boom and bust town.

A new study from the Miami Urban Future Initiative focuses on providing evidence-based data on Miami’s evolution as a global city.

Miami is now one of the world’s most globalized cities.

The rules of talent attraction are changing quickly.

Long considered the gateway to Latin America, Miami takes steps to become a truly international city.

Despite their urban image, millennials are looking to suburbs and the country for a quieter, and cheaper, lifestyle.

While today’s cities attract rising shares of innovation, they are surprisingly slow to adopt new technology.

By prioritizing inclusivity in their efforts to attract new visitors, DMOs can benefit both the local economy and underserved residents.

Places are taking the ideas of what people want in urban communities, and smaller and suburban communities are trying to recreate this.

Too often, cities try to imitate a strategy that has been successful in another area without considering the unique conditions of their own urban environment.

Doing more to help fund urban needs is good for their workers and their profitability. Some communities are insisting that they step up.

What do cities — and the businesses that make them up — need to do to power the creativity economy? An economic and urban development expert has the answers.

Many cities stand by their decision to enter the Amazon H2Q competition — regardless of whether they were ultimately chosen as a finalist. Why? Building regional cooperation.

The secret to place branding lies in highlighting a city’s unique characteristics — not mimicking a tried-and-true formula.

In 2013, Mexico witnessed the collapse of three of its largest housing developers. Five years later, the nation has seen a boom in investment and multifamily construction.

Today, Detroit is on the mend, thanks to large-scale investments from key players like Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans and Bedrock.

Brooklyn and Harlem have always had great “brand” presence and appeal. We are now capitalizing on it.

Place branding is about creating a compelling case for why your location matters.

Rather than waiting on top-down changes from the federal or state government, universities and cities can drive their own transformation.

Establishing an effective city brand — one that is both inclusive and specific — is a difficult task. But if one city has made it look easy, it’s Austin.

Steven Pedigo joins the Breached Podcast to discuss what’s needed to ensure the American social contract.

In today’s increasingly global economy, universities form an incomparable link between urban areas and the international market.

Greater Philadelphia is the only region in the country that creates a city-wide welcome to all college students.

With its enviable location, prominent international airport, and major port, Miami now serves as an economic and financial hub for Latin America.

The Miami metro has quickly strengthened its entrepreneurial ecosystem. But, what does it mean for the future?

Does Miami’s influx of new residents translate into sustained and shared economic growth?

As Miami aspires to the ranks of leading global cities, how does its talent base stack up?

Steven Pedigo leads a CityNation Place panel discussion about leveraging neighborhood brands to revitalize cities.

For governments looking to solve their most pressing urban challenges, it is not enough to simply build a strategy. It is even more imperative to devise a plan of action.

While urban development is often characterized as a war between hungry developers and heroic neighborhood activists, the reality is far more complicated.

Brownfields has quickly become one of the most important buzzwords in urban development.

Amazon’s second headquarters threatens to exacerbate inequality wherever it locates.

A conversation with host Sam Chandan about inclusive prosperity and the Amazon H2Q process.

Cities across North America have embarked on a competitive race to win over Amazon.

Ontario has reclaimed it status as Canada’s leading economic engine. At the heart of this transformation is a progressive agenda that focuses on fairness and opportunity for all.

Despite concerns about the impact of new development, expanding a city’s housing supply is often critical to its affordability and economic success.

Recently cities have begun to promote tolerance as a key factor in economic growth.

Steven Pedigo joins WNYC’s Brian Lehrer to discuss the rise of NYC’s creative economy. 

When it comes to capturing millennial talent, small cities should look to one other for guidance.

An inclusive prosperity strategy must go beyond inclusionary zoning and affordable housing to include jobs, innovation, and design.

It’s time to put inclusive prosperity at the very top of America’s agenda.

Corporations like Google and Amazon reap the spoils of winner-take-all urbanism. Here’s how they can also bear greater responsibility.

A conversation with host Sam Chandan about sanctuary cities and the importance of inclusion to economic development.

The future of many American cities—and of the nation itself—depends on the skills of foreign-born workers.

While driverless cars have the potential to transform cities into more sustainable places, they also have the potential to exacerbate urban inequality.

The advent of driverless cars in our urban communities is imminent.

In the global race for technology and talent, many cities have endeavored to attract high-tech companies by building large-scale innovation districts.

City brands communicate a place’s values, offerings, and identity to the world.

Authenticity has long been considered an important feature of urban design. 

Downtown revitalization can come with a hefty price tag — but it doesn’t always have to.

While liquor licenses may not be the first thing that come to mind when seeking to revive our downtown areas, perhaps they should be closer to the top of the list.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the world learned an important lesson about the vital role of cities in coping with environmental challenge.

How are communities expected to rebuild in the wake of a hurricane?

More than 32 million Americans live and work in distressed urban communities, yet their voices often remain unheard.

Cities have rebounded spectacularly, but with this success comes a new set of deep-seated challenges.

As Jersey City evolves into a live-work-play locale, will it be able to retain its affordability and diversity?

Cities across the U.S. are melting pots for different types of talent.

Four pillars of inclusive prosperity are key to addressing our urban crisis.

Where do the five boroughs live and work?

New York has long been recognized as America’s creative capital, fueled by a growing pool of creative talent.

Brooklyn has become a popular destination for the Creative Class. What’s the impact on the economy?

Queens is rising. Or, as the New York Times put it, investors, developers, and young professionals are at the very least tilting towards the borough.

Staten Island could be nearing its golden era. Here’s why.

New York’s strong economic recovery is breathing new life into the Bronx.

Staten Island has the smallest creative economy of New York’s five boroughs.

With nearly 141,000 workers, the Creative Class makes up 25 percent of Queens’ workforce.

Forty percent of Manhattan workers belong to the Creative Class, a share that is 61 percent larger than the U.S. average.

Four in 10 Brooklyn residents are Creative Class members, however, the Creative Class makes up less than one-third of Brooklyn’s workforce.

Thirty-two percent of Bronx residents who work are members of the Creative Class.

Not all growth is created equal. Does the influx of residents into Miami translate into sustained and shared economic growth?

Talent is a key driver of advanced economies. As Miami aspires to the ranks of leading global cities, how does its talent base stack up?

Over the past decade, Miami has made efforts to cultivate a unique creative fingerprint, distinguishing itself from places like Los Angeles and New York. But how does it stack up?

Miami has experienced remarkable economic success in recent years. But, there is a downside to its urban revival: A New Urban Crisis born from its very success.

Miami is more dependent on global talent in the form of immigrants than any other US metro, with the exception of San Jose.

Clark County’s Economic Development Plan lays out the goals and actions for achieving economic prosperity.

Steven Pedigo joins Iowa Public Radio to explore the impact of the Creative Class on cities in the U.S.

Buenos Aires has been through a lot of transformations in its history.  If any global city is well-positioned to make the most of an Art Basel Cities, it is Buenos Aires.

The recipe for great cities does not lie in top-down government programs, but in access to great urban amenities.

It’s been thirty years since the United States last developed a concrete urban agenda.

Miami’s battle with Zika provides a case study for exploring the relationship between local government and epidemics.

The Zika epidemic highlights the extent to which our health and safety depend on the sound local policy and judgment.

Tulsa Inspires, a celebration of the region’s inventive, creative, entrepreneurial and leadership potential, will drive Tulsa new economic development identity.

The way that creative people live, work and play has changed dramatically in recent years, and it’s having a major impact on travel.

Greater Miami has reached a crossroads. Its economy has deepened, diversified, and become more creative and idea-based.

The city’s growth will require innovation, creativity, and investment to be sustainable.

Over the last decade and a half, New York City has displayed incredible resilience.

Jerusalem rich with culture, history and heritage. However, its ability to attract and retain the Creative Class will determine its future competitiveness within the global hierarchy.

While the Yukon doesn’t have a significant research university or a technology cluster, it does have a high quality of place, which it can leverage to attract the creative class.

In “today’s borderless economy,” cross-border collaboration is critical for areas like the Cali-Baja mega-region, which is home to 6.6 million people and more than $205 billion in economic output.

Entrepreneurs play a bigger role in the health of their cities — and reap more from their success — than you might suspect.

Universities give you more than someone to cheer for. They can have a major impact on your bottom line.

Your city makes a big difference to the success of your business. Here’s why.

Here are three sources of government funding every entrepreneur should know about.