For those in Greater Cleveland & the transit community more broadly, this one hits home. We lost a brilliant leader and friend this week. 🙏🏼💔

For those interested in the Hopkins renovation (CLEvolution), this video helps visualize all the major work over the next few years. Pretty wild.

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics was awarded to Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford for their work on economic shocks. nyti.ms/3WkNNM4

A September Fed rate hike is almost locked in now

85% chance the Fed hikes next week.
It's the right call.
The risks are growing that inflation remains entrenched (or keeps broadening). Fed Chair Warsh doesn't want to make the same mistake Powell did of waiting too long to iddle and lower-income Americans. I believe a rate hike might *help* them a) by containing inflation and b) by potentially LOWERING borrowing costs as bond investors have more confidence the Fed is on the case.

Different types of neighborhood-specific policies have different effects on the sorting of families across neighborhoods. This paper uses a general equilibrium model to compare the macroeconomic impact of such policies at scale and over time. bit.ly/3RK33jH

GCRTA’s first new train arrives Cleveland
Railcars to undergo testing on West Side
neo-trans.blog/2026/08/31/gcr…

@GCRTA @SiemensMobility @CityofCleveland @portofcleveland @CSX @FTA_DOT @ODOT_Statewide @NOACA_MPO @CuyahogaCounty @DowntownCLE @inthecircle @CLEforTransit @AllAboardOhio

New railcars in #Cleveland ! Congrats to @GCRTA on this milestone & the many staff & partners that made it a reality. Check the link to see inside the new cars:
✅ rider comfort
✅ newest tech
✅ operational efficiency, e.g. lower maintenance costs, fewer service interruptions

Proposed CRA revamp could spur disinvestment in Cleveland crainscleveland.com/banking-financ…

Risks to workers' jobs & earnings have often been chalked up to "productivity shocks" like technology. Research by visiting scholar @orazio_at & consultant @M_De_Nardi tries a fresh approach to data and finds a good job match is more important. Read more: bit.ly/3RV9lxa

Abstracts due 9/7
"We are particularly interested in articles that might be of interest to other practitioners, policy makers and politicians..." @UAAnews

ICYMI @Bradford__James (formerly @CityofCleveland ) spoke at launch of @urbaninstitute Center for Local Finance & Growth earlier this year re: need to "self-reflect" about fed funding to cities, & need to build trust w/ partners to maximize investment long into the future👇🏼 1/2

Congrats to all who are part of the Center's launch @urbaninstitute. I look forward to seeing all that comes under Brett's leadership. Thx for continuing to elevate the great work across the country & esp Midwest including @CityofCleveland and @CincinnatiPort in this event.

👏🏼

City leaders know tackling the toughest social challenges often requires the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to join forces. But how do you make it work in practice?

Our new Action Insights offers practical guidance for every step of the collaboration journey, distilled from four peer-reviewed studies in Public Performance & Management Review, @PMReview_, @JABS_Journal, and Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

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In 25 years, Ohio State went from regional flagship to national power. Here’s how it happened. crainscleveland.com/education/ccl-…

@federalreserve Chairman Jay Powell bristled at the use of the word “stagflation”due to the difference between now and the extreme pain of the 1970s. That does not mean a mild bout of stagflation is not possible or even probable due to the war and its ripple effects, which will take many months to unwind and bring oil supplies back in balance on a global scale.

What is stagflation - a toxic mix of rising inflation, escalating unemployment and stagnate or a contraction in growth. History doesn’t have to repeat but can rhyme.

The pain that means for households today is different but not necessary less than that endured in the 1970s. The psychological blow is coming against backdrop of decades and lagging wage gains, which collided with the post pandemic inflation. The labor market has shown some signs of life, but that reflects pre-war conditions.

We entered the year with a tailwind of a catch-up to the six-week gov’t shutdown, fiscal stimulus & a sense of where tariffs will ultimately land, easing uncertainty.

That has hit headwinds of the war, which is more than an oil shock - it is roiling supply chains the world over. It will take weeks to months to get disrupted energy infrastructure up and fully running. Years for repairs to damaged infrastructure.

In the interim, we will see scarcities, notably across the developing world worsen, which adds legs to the shock.

The blow of added inflation, which has some legs and squeezes profit margins, while pushing prices up is hard. The bump in employment, tax refunds via tax cuts last year act as a buffer but dissipate more rapidly than the residual effects of the war. That adds insult to injury to the economic anxiety, which was high prior to the war.

So, no, this isn’t the 1970s, but it feels really bad relative to what most consumers have known.

How can local leaders help more residents build stable, thriving lives?

Join Urban on 4/24 @ 1 p.m. ET for a virtual event on resources from the Upward Mobility Initiative—designed to help #communities advance #economic mobility. urbn.is/4c6DLCx #LiveatUrban

New (Feb '26) working paper out by Dionissi Aliprantis & Jeffrey Lin @philadelphiafed on urban segregation: "Strong Spatial Spillovers Determine Neighborhood Shape and Neighborhood Change" philadelphiafed.org/the-economy/re…

We're launching something new.

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The first module, Using Data and Evidence as a City Leader, is designed to help you use data re impactfully—in your work.

🔗Register for the free module here: bit.ly/4p1xFsf. More modules coming soon.

Authors: Teddy Svoronos, Amelia Knudson, Laura Metzger, Charlotte Tuminelli, Jorrit de Jong, Quinton Mayne, Gaylen W. Moore, Elizabeth Patton

So appreciate the continued leadership of County Exec @chrisronayne and his support of me & my colleagues as we navigate present & future of public transit @GCRTA. Thanks for asking hard questions, lifting up what works, and bringing people together. Onward!