Dylan Connor
@dyligent.bsky.social
270 followers 300 following 31 posts
Computational Social Science | Professor, ASU Geography | CASBS Fellow 24-25, Stanford 🇮🇪 profconnor.github.io https://x.com/Dylligent
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dyligent.bsky.social
Super news! Honored to win the annual Editors' Choice Award at the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society for our paper "Who gets left behind by left behind places?"

@cjres.bsky.social @casbsstanford.bsky.social @tkemeny.bsky.social
cjres.bsky.social
The 2024 Editors' Choice award has been made to Dylan Connor, Aleksander Berg, Tom Kemeny and Peter Kedron for their paper "Who gets left behind by left behind places?"
doi.org/10.1093/cjre...
dyligent.bsky.social
My PhD students Yilei Yu and Alex Cliff have defended their dissertations, producing outstanding research at the intersection of spatial data science and flooding!

Thanks to committee members @sarameerow.bsky.social (co-advised Alex), Melanie Gall, and Aaron Flores.

#PhD #SpatialDataScience
Reposted by Dylan Connor
casbsstanford.bsky.social
In addition to hosting 1996-97 CASBS fellow & Nobel Prize winner David Card on the CASBS podcast recently (we'll publish the episode in the fall), we took David to the study he occupied during his fellowship - now occupied by his podcast conversation partner, Dylan Connor

📷: @dyligent.bsky.social
dyligent.bsky.social
A conversation with Nobel Prize-winning economist David Card for the Human Centered podcast. Coming later this year.. @casbsstanford.bsky.social
dyligent.bsky.social
A conversation with Nobel Prize-winning economist David Card for the Human Centered podcast. Coming later this year..
Reposted by Dylan Connor
noamgidron.bsky.social
An important piece from the @apsrjournal.bsky.social (by @devorahmanekin.bsky.social and @tmitts.bsky.social) to make sense of ongoing events: it matters not only which tactics are adopted by protesters but also who they are.
dyligent.bsky.social
The most important paper on democratic backsliding I've read this year
noamgidron.bsky.social
🚨Why do masses support democratic backsliding?🚨
A new @AJPS_Editor paper with Yotam Margalit, @liorsheffer.bsky.social and Itamar Yakir explores this question in the Israeli context. Our findings emphasize the role of leader attachment and affective polarization.
doi.org/10.1111/ajps...
dyligent.bsky.social
This Thursday (March 6) I'll be speaking at the Department of City & Regional Planning at Berkeley about 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 & 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. Reach out if you'd like to attend.
dyligent.bsky.social
Many flood-prone buildings are not currently under the purview of FEMA. These buildings are more likely to be deficient in physical condition, poorly constructed, and underinsured - meaning that their residents can face v high costs due to flooding. Read more Yilei Yu's first paper!
aaflores.bsky.social
New paper t.co/q5YuiEZGLt led by @arizonastateuni.bsky.social PhD student Yilei Yu! 56% of flood-prone buildings in Houston are located outside of FEMA’s 100-year flood zones. These “overlooked” zones are disproportionately home to buildings that are lower quality and often uninsured.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11111-025-00485-8
t.co
Reposted by Dylan Connor
humantransit.bsky.social
This study's title sounds like "US cities are bad because they foster inequality." But they find that the problem began in the mid-20th century, which happens to be when cities started planning for cars.

So the problem isn't cities. The problem is cars.

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Big cities fuel inequality within and across generations
Abstract. Urbanization has long fueled a dual narrative: cities are heralded as sources of economic dynamism and wealth creation yet criticized for fosteri
academic.oup.com
Reposted by Dylan Connor
Reposted by Dylan Connor
rodriguez-pose.bsky.social
Big cities once lifted generations out of poverty. Now, they entrench it.
New research by @dyligent.bsky.social, @tkemeny.bsky.social et al. shows that since the mid-20th century, upward mobility has shifted to smaller towns.
#Cities must reconnect growth with opportunity. doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Big cities fuel inequality within and across generations
Abstract. Urbanization has long fueled a dual narrative: cities are heralded as sources of economic dynamism and wealth creation yet criticized for fosteri
doi.org
Reposted by Dylan Connor
pnasnexus.org
Combining remote sensing and administrative data, researchers reveal that since the mid-20th century, growing cities have ceased to be centers of upward social and economic mobility. In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Maps of intergenerational mobility, early and late 20th century. Darker (blue) colors indicate childhood locations that are associated with higher income attainment among children from poorer backgrounds while lighter (yellow) colors show lower levels of upward income mobility.
dyligent.bsky.social
Thanks to IPUMS (@ipums.bsky.social), NHGIS, Opportunity Insights (@oppinsights.bsky.social), and the National Landcover Database for their wonderful commitment to open data and science, and to @casbsstanford.bsky.social & SGSUP for support.
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dyligent.bsky.social
The most surprising part? This wasn't always true. Historical data shows urban areas once excelled at BOTH wealth creation AND social mobility. The mid-twentieth century marked a shift toward less inclusive urban development.
6/8
dyligent.bsky.social
The impact isn't uniform. These negative effects hit hardest in:
• Low-income neighborhoods
• Communities of color, creating a tale of two cities within metros
5/8
dyligent.bsky.social
Key finding: Big cities have become engines of inequality. While they generate wealth & high incomes, they're increasingly failing at providing opportunities for upward mobility.
4/8
dyligent.bsky.social
Our approach relies on a first-of-its-kind database combining:
• Century of satellite-based image analysis
• Population patterns
• Economic indicators
• Social mobility data to measure how city structure impacts opportunity
3/8
dyligent.bsky.social
Cities are celebrated as economic powerhouses - but at what social cost? We studied 100 years of data to understand how urban environments shape three key outcomes:
• Wealth creation
• Income generation
• Economic mobility for poor children
2/8
dyligent.bsky.social
🚨 New Research: The American Dream is Dying in Big Cities
Cities used to be ladders of opportunity for their residents. Not anymore. Our new paper shows smaller cities & towns now outperform major metros for kids born into poverty.

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

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