New York Haters Lose Again, New Ethical Uber, & More
Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of June 9 - June 21.
Note: Around the College Town is my weekly-ish links roundup article on urbanism and education. These posts mostly cover news that may have fallen through the cracks rather than the big events.
I’m also on a road trip this week, so this one might be a little light. Enjoy!
New York Haters Keep Losing
Just 6 years ago, an op-ed declared that New York City was “dead forever.” It was the height of COVID, with the city witnessing an unprecedented exodus. Those predictions of doom were wrong then; the city bounced back from the pandemic. With the New York Knicks winning the NBA Finals, those predictions look even more wrong today.
Last year at this time, I was celebrating my hometown basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning the NBA Finals. It meant a lot to the city. This year, it was New York City’s turn, a turn they’ve waited 53 years to come up again.
As much as the win meant for OKC last year, those feelings were multiplied by millions more people for the biggest city in the country. I was happy for them. I lived in New York City for 6 years, and have a lot of fond memories even with the Knicks. I was in the Garden for the game where Melo set the record with 62 points!
I love NYC, my former home during graduate school. I think it’s the only world-class city in the country (I’ll have a full article for this take in the future). The density, public transport, and scale are just only comparable to places like Paris, London, or Seoul (sorry to my current home, LA). Perhaps this is why it gets so much hate. It’s the one American city that feels like a foreign city. But it’s not; it’s an American city. We should be proud that it exists.
For all of this, I always defend New York City. Sure, it has its problems, but the depiction and reputation it has from certain right-wing and suburban circles is over the top. They perceive the city as dangerous and chaotic. It’s not. It’s energetic yet safe.
9 Things I Noticed About NYC After Being Gone Since Pre-COVID
I lived in New York City for 6 years while I completed my PhD at Teachers College, Columbia University. I loved living in the city, and still miss it dearly. But my job called me out to the sunny skies of Southern California.
The images out of the Knicks championship run just proved this again. Spontaneous watch parties, projectors on the side of buildings, people watching from fire escapes. People of all different races and ethnicities dancing together, celebrating one thing: the Knicks.
The parade and celebration day showed that energy out in full force. Apparently, two million people poured into the parade route. Yes, there were some issues, like crowds being stuck in the subway or empty busses burnt. To the credit of the city, it all got cleaned up by the next morning.
Things don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. And the parade was just that. So too was Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech. He honored the team and weaved it into the city’s history. It turns out his election has not brought about the apocalypse of the city. Instead, New York City now seems to be entering another Golden Age. Add in the World Cup with the Knicks championship, and vibes are at an all-time high.
The NYC naysayers just keep losing. The city showed us all that this past week. New York City is alive forever. Congrats to them.
Links I’m Reading This Week
Education
Community around Stanford pushes the university to build more affordable housing. Ironically, this is the same crowd who fights against normal housing.
Walmart family announces new STEM university in Bentonville, Arkansas. I wish they would have gone a little more traditional with the design. Nonetheless, it is an interesting development to keep an eye on.
Hilton Hotels is getting on the college town economy. The power of the top American college towns is still strong.
California schools are facing stiff declines in student enrollment numbers. NIMBYs in the state have driven out so many young families.
In some college town news, Berkeley plans to add a parking fee on households with multiple cars. This is going to drive some people absolutely bonkers.
A landlord in quintessential college towns whines over competition from new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). Opposition to more student housing is often championed by people with a vested interest in keeping prices high.
Urbanism-ish
Economist whines about McDonald’s installing self-service kiosks and cutting staff. He pegs it on minimum wage, but the company has followed the same trend in China for over a decade now. McDonald’s chases the bottom line regardless of minimum wage.
Now, we cannot just cut all humans yet. Starbucks in Korea closes all stores for a day due to a boneheaded AI consultant suggestion.
In more workforce news, Japan is turning to foreigners as bus drivers. It will be interesting to see if there is an immigration backlash like here in the US.
New conspiracy theory: China is funding data center hate in the US. I don’t buy it. The dislike for data centers tracks with our national NIMBY attitude.
The “hard tech” companies distributed around Southern California are impressive. The engine of the economy is not just in Silicon Valley.
Of course, the East Coast Bizarro version of California, Florida, has its own impressive new coast name: The Space Coast.
Chandler G@Echo5550I am proud to present a new updated map of The Space Coast! Here is the rundown for the pad colors: Green - Active Red - Inactive Purple - Under Development Cyan - Leased / Proposed I have also attempted to mark out different factories and buildings around the coast. I am
4:31 PM · Jun 20, 2026 · 602K Views49 Replies · 207 Reposts · 1.86K LikesSwitching over to self-driving news, another Waymo crash shows it is again “idiot human driver does something dumb and/ or aggressive, causing a crash with an autonomous vehicle.”
Waymo will also be welcoming fans to the World Cup. Public transit to our stadiums does not meet international standards, so self-driving cars will be needed.
Waymo unveils a premium service. I guess this is inevitable, and likely the precursor to the coming subscription model.
Tesla submitted questionable safety data in Europe. I have long worried Musk’s company will sully the name of the self-driving technology.
We do not need more bad drivers as it is, as a new report on pedestrian deaths shows the crisis isn’t getting better.
For cyclists, Lloyd Alter has a great piece on Carbon Upfront on why bicycles should not have stop signs. This drives drivers crazy.
Fun new Amtrak fast train is coming to the Pacific Northwest. Great name, too: Amtrak Cascades.
Closing Time… Ethical Uber in Denver
I was in Denver this week, a lovely city by the way, when my Lyft driver tipped us to an intriguing new rideshare company. It’s called Drivers Cooperative – Colorado, and it is owned and operated by the drivers themselves. They receive a majority of the fare, with a smaller percentage going to the parent company, reversing the trends from Uber and Lyft.
We tried it a couple of times; it worked fine. Since it’s new, I think it still needs a critical mass of users and drivers to maximize its potential. But the drivers we talked to said they loved it. The Coop felt like “owning their own business,” they said. It is the ethical Uber!
Funny enough, More Perfect Union just featured the Coop in a video on the service. And our driver was featured as a spokesman. While the service is only around Colorado, they have eyes on expansion. Philadelphia is supposed to be next, according to the driver. I will be rooting for this company and its drivers, with hopes it will reach me down in California soon.
hey Ryan! I love the pro-nyc vibes - I just shared a piece about being an nyc hater and I’d love if you checked it out (disagreement ofc welcomed!), here’s the link if you’re interested https://m0r94n.substack.com/p/new-york-city-they-could-never-make?r=1fkxj7&utm_medium=ios