Skip to content

Talking Headways Podcast: They Took Our Jobs… Downtown!

This week on the Talking Headways Podcast I’m joined by Joe Cortright of City Observatory to nerd out on employment data and discuss their most recent report, Surging City Center Job Growth. We learn how employment cores for many cities are growing and why this looks like a long-term shift.
podcast icon logo

This week on the Talking Headways Podcast I’m joined by Joe Cortright of City Observatory to nerd out on employment data and discuss their most recent report, Surging City Center Job Growth. We learn how employment cores for many cities are growing and why this looks like a long-term shift.

Joe also talks about how they measured urban cores, the use of my favorite data tool — On the Map, which includes LEHD job data from the census — and findings from before and after the Great Recession.

Finally, I’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the transportation impacts of this growth in central city employment. We find out how radial roads affect sprawl and growth, and we look back at some of Joe’s reports that skewer the annual Texas Transportation Institute congestion reports. For the finale, we share opinions about self-driving cars and buses.

Take a listen during your short or long commute.

Photo of Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood is the creator of the Talking Headways podcast and editor of the newsletter The Overhead Wire.

Read More:

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog USA

This Doomsday Law Could Stop Trains Across America In A Matter of Weeks

May 4, 2026

Monday’s Headlines Load Up the Kids

May 4, 2026

Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It

May 1, 2026

Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health

May 1, 2026
See all posts