On urban progressive visions and our area's absence of same.

The Guardian's correspondent may or may not have the Chicago situation sussed, but he passes along a handful of astute observations as to cities as a laboratory for progressive change. Not that you'd notice any of it as a resident of the metropolitan Louisville area, which enjoys thinking of itself as something it isn't. More on that here:

Chart of the Week: The most liberal and conservative big cities, by Drew DeSilver (Pew Research Center)

Spoiler alert: Louisville, Indianapolis and Lexington ain't San Francisco, folks.

Tales of the cities: the progressive vision of urban America, by Gary Younge (Guardian)

 ... Public imagination when it comes to political geography is skewed. People think in terms of red and blue states, but the real distinction is between town and country. With just a handful of exceptions, every city of more than 500,000 inhabitants votes Democrat; in all of the 10 largest cities in America white people are a minority. More than two-thirds of Obama’s lead against Mitt Romney in 2012 came from the three largest US cities – New York, LA and Chicago, and their surrounding areas. It’s not difficult to see why. People come to cities to escape isolation and find opportunity. So cities become home to a disproportionately large number of gay and lesbian people, immigrants and religious minorities. To function they demand social tolerance and public investment for everything from transport to parks.

Another walkability study to read while driving.

While back in New Albany, we remain paralyzed at the terrifying prospect of sacrificing two minutes of automotive drive-through time by people who don't even live here.

Walkability drives Europe´s fastest growing housing market, by Alexander Ståhle [Post Car(d) Urbanism]

Stockholm is the fastest growing city in Western Europe. What then is so attractive here, except thriving businesses and a healthy environment? A recent big study shows that the housing market is basically driven by walkability.