More Content Added

Under the 24-hour Cities tab I have added the announcement that my book, "24-Hour Cities: Real Investment Performance, Not Just Promises" (Routledge, 2016) won the Gold Award in the Robert Bruss book competition held by the National Association of Real Estate Editors.

Also, I have posted an early (2001) study of the impact of 24-hour Entertainment and Leisure Districts on urban quality of life. This brief study looks as neighborhoods in New York City where nightlife is particularly active. It was prepared at the request of a study group at the London School of Economics.

Xenophobia

The distraction of the day is the President's vulgar characterization of Haiti and Africa as "s***holes" (yes, I know the word but hope I have communications standards higher than Mr. Trump's). Of course, his expressed preference for immigrants from Norway closed the loop in exposing his underlying bias.

A comment to congressmen in the privacy of his office is one thing. But the economic impact of his preferred legislative policy on immigration, the so-called "RAISE Act" is another and more serious matter. It was hardly coincidental that one of the sponsors of that bill, Sen Tom Cotton, was among the surprise attendees when Sen. Lyndsey Graham and Sen. Dick Durbin arrived to present a bi-partisan approach to immigration reform.

It is no accident, and no surprise either, that U.S. business is overwhelmingly opposed to the RAISE Act. At a time of increasing labor shortages in the US, across a broad span of occupations, the RAISE Act would not only cut in half the volume of LEGAL IMMIGRATION, but would drastically restrict country-of-origin patterns to English-speaking nations and tilt preferences to the highly-educated (so-called merit-based tests). Such provisions fly in the face of the diversity of occupational needs of 21st century America, not to mention the stifling of entrepreneursship typical of immigrants whose career paths begin with lower-level jobs but grow in the first generation and bear fruit in upwardly mobile 2nd and 3rd generations.

These issues are discussed in great detail in the article from Commercial Property Executive (September 2017) posted on this website under "Industry Publications."

Postings of Commercial Property Executive Columns

Continuing to populate the Industry Publications tab with a half dozen of my quarterly Economist Column. These cover topics from interest rates and cap rates, international trade, environmental issues, components of GDP and their relative contributions to this recovery, and the long-term/short term thinking that creates conflicts for decision-makers.

I will continue to post writings I've published in recent years and hope to be up-to-date by the end of January 2018

Postings to Site

I've added links to five documents, and will continue to add more in populating the site with recent writings.

In "Academic Papers and Journal Articles" you will find the header "Lessons from the Recent Financial Crisis, which is my Journal of Property Investment and Finance paper, "Ex Post to Ex Ante." And under the header "Vibrant Cities," the paper I co-authored with Emil Malizia of UNC/Chapel Hill in Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, "DEFINING 24-HOUR AND 18-HOUR CITIES, ASSESSING THEIR VIBRANCY, AND EVALUATING THEIR PROPERTY PERFORMANCE."

In "Industry Publications/Other" I've place a Globe Street article where I was an interviewee: "

And under the main "Academics" heading, there are two new posts: "Financial Times Letter, January 3, 2012

Expo Real Black Swan presentation, October 2015

The FT letter concerns the importance of learning financial history for both students and practitioners. The Black Swan presentation deals with "event risk" in real estate, a concern of asset and portfolio managers that has only increased over time.

In all cases, clicking on the header will open the link to the full article. Your comments on content and navigation are always welcome.

Back in the Saddle

One of my fears when I opened this website was that I wouldn't find the time or have the motivation to keep it as current as the Age of the Internet requires. Well, as the Delphic Oracle counseled, "Know thyself." Or it may be that my wife, Betty's, comment, "You are a low tech guy in a high tech world" is oh-so-true.

In truth, it's been quite a couple of years. I've moved from NYU to Fordham University. My book on 24-hour cities has come out, and won the Gold Award for books from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. I've continued to write, speak, research, and travel. And all of this despite having a couple of cataract surgeries and two vascular surgeries for DVTs. Ain't gettin' old grand? (I'll be 69 on January 24th). In 2016 and 2017, my father-in-law passed away at 93, Betty and I celebrated our 40th wedding  anniversary (now @ 41!) and our daughter Joanna and her beau Casey tied the knot. So life hasn't been dull.

Nevertheless, it's time to start repopulating the website with new material under the navigation headers, and to see whether this blogging thing is something that suits me.

Your comments are always welcome!

Hugh