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Aaron M. Renn

Columnist

Aaron M. Renn is an opinion-leading urban analyst, consultant, speaker and writer on a mission to help America’s cities and people thrive and find real success in the 21st century. He focuses on urban, economic development and infrastructure policy in the greater American Midwest. He also regularly contributes to and is cited by national and global media outlets, and his work has appeared in many publications, including the The Guardian, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

He can be reached at aaron@aaronrenn.com or on Twitter at @aaron_renn.

Cities tend to favor building stadiums and convention centers over investing in education or human services. It's an understandable but troublesome trend.
When lower-income Americans move, it's seen as a result of displacement instead of opportunity. This negative perception needs to change.
In our nostalgia for the postwar era, we ignore some things that weren’t so good.
Drugs, crime and the social ills long associated with urban areas have migrated to rural America, and it's having a profound effect on the economy.
Much of what used to happen only in the biggest metropolises is spreading out.
Will small cities be able to exploit technology the way bigger cities have?
Despite many perceptions, entrepreneurship and self-employment have been on the decline for years, especially among Millennials.
Cities aspiring to prominence on the global stage are overlooking a key economic development strategy.