Cities aren’t defaulting on their bondholders. They’re defaulting on their own people. They’re failing to maintain roads. Letting pipes corrode. Slashing parks and library hours. Ignoring broken sidewalks and shuttered buildings. They are defaulting on the very promises that make life in a community work.Now, let’s be clear: This isn’t happening because cities are mismanaged. It’s not because their leaders are incompetent or corrupt. It’s not even because they lean left or right. We’ve looked at cities of every size, political persuasion, and geography. They’re all trending in the same direction.Why? Because, as we’ve been saying for years, they’ve all built using the same unproductive development model.
