The Continuing Decentralization of America
25th November 2025
Less than fifteen years ago, Harvard economist Edward Glaeser’s book, The Triumph of the City, argued that face-to-face communications were sill vital for finance and other industries, which was why dense cities and dense downtowns were still important. At the time, I wrote what was probably the most critical review of this book because it failed to recognize that continuing improvements in telecommunications (such as FaceTime) and transportation (such as interstate freeways) were making face-to-face meetings less relevant all the time.
Now, a recent article in the Economist observes that the share of New York City workers employed in the finance and insurance industry has fallen from 11.5 percent in 1990 to 7.7 percent in 2025. Although JPMorgan Chase occupies one of the two Midtown office towers taller than the Empire State Building, that bank has more employees in Texas than in New York.
Among the major reasons for this decline, argues the Economist, are high costs, high taxes, and increased government regulation. But if density were really an essential prerequisite for the success of the finance industry, it would overcome those obstacles. The reality is that the need for density has been declining since the development of electricity, telephones, and affordable automobiles, and new technologies since then, including microcomputers, Zoom calls, and autonomous vehicles, have simply continued this trend.