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Google Goes, Airbnb Cuts, WeWork Fights, and Common Grows
I hope you and your family are well. We are still waiting for spring to officially begin here in New York. April was cold and wet. May is a mixed bag so far, with a couple of beautiful days, but a lot of clouds and strong winds. Whatever happens with
Home Alone: What's Next for Airbnb?
"We are pausing our efforts in Transportation and Airbnb Studios, and we have to scale back our investments in Hotels and Lux[ury Properties]", says [https://news.airbnb.com/a-message-from-co-founder-and-ceo-brian-chesky/] Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky. Airbnb is responding to Covid-19 by going back to its roots. This
Study from home, live on campus.
Forty-five million Americans owe more than $1.6 trillion in student debt. Such debt contributes to low home-ownership among those under 40. The cost of going to college in the U.S. has increased by more than 25% over the past decade, growing several times faster than real incomes. This
Future of Work: Don't ask where, ask how.
Many middle managers and landlords are saying (and hoping) that working at home is not productive. Most of them are missing the point. Companies in cities like New York, San Francisco, and London are spending about $15,000 is a year to keep an employee at a desk. Bosses should
Are you ready for Post-Pandemic Posturing?
Parts of the world are easing their lockdown, and corporations are trying to figure out how to get people to come out and spend.
Clean Malls, Spacious WeWorks,Empty Schools, and Unsustainable Cities
1. Are you ready for Post-Pandemic Posturing? Parts of the world are easing their lockdown, and corporations are trying to figure out how to get people to come out and spend. Simon Property Group, one of the world's largest owners of retail space, is reopening [https://www.cnbc.
Forty in Quarantine
Today is Israel’s 72nd Independence Day. It is also my 40th birthday. I am celebrating it in New York, where I now live with my wife and daughter. My parents planned to name me Arbel, the name of a mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee. But since I was
Unbundling Cities, Extending Airbnb, Disrupting Kitchens, and Building Startups
This week's newsletter looks at the Great Covid Survey, Unbundling the City, Cleaning up Airbnb, The future of CloudKitchens, Blue Ocean Strategy, Urban Employment, the Future of Cities, and Venture Capital's shift from pure software to hard assets.
Healthy Travel, Virtual Friends, Empty Offices, and Zoom Goats
I hope you and your family are well. We just concluded Passover 2020, in exile in the suburbs, waiting for Pharaoh to let us go back to Brooklyn. The thing is, we're not sure we want to go home. We're enjoying the time away from the
Amazon Masks, Airbnb Bailouts, Autonomous Virus, Moon Walls, and Google Errors
Below are the eight most interesting things I've seen this week, at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. 1. I'm from Amazon and I'm here to help. The Canadian Government signed [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canada-signs-deal-with-amazon-to-distribute-medical-supplies-154308362.html] an agreement with Amazon
