Summer Swells, Circa Hamptons 1957

The conceit of a series of posts here about the Hamptons is that, after a first rush of summer “colonies” that culminated in the Roaring Twenties, the East End of Long Island went through sleepy decades until a new wave of city money began to stir development again in the late 1960s. That is generally

Population Hotspots of Texas

In the 20th anniversary issue of the Real Deal magazine this spring, the remarkable surge of Texas exurbs is described in an article (https://therealdeal.com/magazine/national-april-2023/sultans-of-sprawl/) focusing on local developers as well as major national builders such as Lennar. It’s headlined, “Sultans of Sprawl,” but don’t expect snark even in this entertaining real-estate publication. An even-handed account

The Lineup Ritual for Growth-Belters

David Brooks’ latest column in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/opinion/sun-belt-migration.html) reflects on the internal migrations of Americans that I recently addressed at this forum. He, too, sees political connotations but also quality-of-life considerations. On the latter, it’s worth noting that the plusses and minuses don’t fall cleanly on one side or the other. Let me

A Labor Case for Managed Migration

The last generation has famously lifted millions out of poverty in rising economies such as China and India, but countless millions more lag behind, caught in societies that fail to gain a foothold on material progress. What to do for them? Lant Pritchett, an Oxford development researcher formerly of the World Bank, has an idea

Chicago Is One Kind of Town

The geographical resorting of America continues apace–the separation of peoples based broadly on ideology. You see this population movement on both coasts, accentuated by the pandemic and remote work. It’s about other things, of course–costs, space, weather–but it’s a lot about politics. And after Tuesday’s mayoral election result in Chicago (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/elections/chicago-mayor-election-brandon-johnson.html), we can expect more

When Data Don’t Compute to Equity

It is implored, by one side of America’s political divide especially, that we “follow the science.” And that is good guidance, but is it consistent politics? Perhaps not. Many on the same left side have a problem with, for example, data science. This emerges in a New York Times Magazine interview with Colin Koopman, an

Legislative Action Is a Real Thing

Outfits on both the political left and right in the U.S. have been beefing up their digital news coverage of America’s statehouses, where lawmaking is both meaningful and sometimes quick. Just such political action was spotlighted in last week’s New York Times article (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/us/michigan-democrats-right-to-work-lgbtq-guns.html) on the Michigan legislature after last November’s electoral sweep of the

Should Your New Road Hog Be EV?

The New York Times’ climate crew produced this moral guide for prospective purchasers of Ford’s mainstay F-150 pickup truck–go electric or not? The battery-powered Lightning model, it happens, weighs 6,000 pounds or nearly 50% more than the gasoline counterparts, and that raises various issues explored in the article: Not just whether EV power needs negate

Title IX’s Ticket to Training Camp

The big business of college sports in the U.S. is for the better or worse, and has many causes and consequences. One reason that the two highly commercial features of most programs–football and men’s basketball–are such big tickets is that they not only carry their own ever-heavier weight but also that of most of the

A Tale of Montauk’s Camp Hero

This personalized recollection from the retired Hamptons publisher Dan Rattiner in the current issue of his old magazine, Dan’s Papers, sets the historical scene for one of eastern Long Island’s most unusual preserves: Camp Hero near Montauk Point. Now an ocean-facing state park on nearly 280 acres, it was a secretive military base during the