Emil Skandul

The 'office apocalypse' is upon us

Deserted downtowns have been haunting US cities since the beginning of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, 95% of offices were occupied. Today that number is closer to 47%. Employees' not returning to downtown offices has had a domino effect: Less…

Here’s How DAOs Are Becoming the New PACs

Even before Russian troops rolled into Ukraine’s border, a hastily self-organized group had come together to fundraise for Ukraine and provide financial support. It organized itself as a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, with a…

Miami is America's buzziest new tech hub. But can its pandemic-fueled boom survive an industry bust?

This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. The music is always too loud in Miami, but tech workers seem to love it anyway. As the tech industry fanned out across the US over the past two…

You Will Eventually Go to the DMV In the Metaverse

Like Rome, the metaverse will not be built in a day, but it’s not for lack of trying. In a single year, the number of active metaverse users increased 10x, from roughly 5,000 users to over 50,000 in 2021 and more than a $500 billion market. By 2030,…

Want fair redistricting? Use artificial intelligence

Over 200 years ago, the “Gerrymander,” a salamander-like legislative district, was mocked in a newspaper cartoon. The Massachusetts governor at the time, Elbridge Gerry, had put his signature on a plan to redistrict a state senate in 1812 in order to…

Who’s afraid of the Bitcoin bosses?

The boulevards of Bitcoin are being built along Broadway and Biscayne Bay, in New York and Miami. Bitcoin and the Web3 world built on the blockchain are in a cyclical bull run, and consequently, they are attracting many more portfolio managers,…

There's an easy way to tax billionaires that would actually work

The ultra-wealthy avoid paying taxes by using stock as collateral for loans and deferring the sale of assets. Fair and effective tax policy would treat large personal loans for the wealthy similar to realized income. Tax policy should target…

VC money used to be trapped in Silicon Valley, leaving startups in other parts of the US out in the cold. Work from home is changing that.

Remote work has caused tech workers to disperse across the country. VC funding has gone remote as well. Samantha Lee/Business Insider Remote work has fundamentally changed the geography of labor and venture capital. Venture capital firms are pursuing…

The billionaire space race is good for you: Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk and the rest of humanity

The space race of the 1960s began during an era not unlike today’s. A political and cultural revolution was afoot in the United States and abroad during a period of economic expansion globally. Poverty, however, afflicted close to half the world’s…

As more companies shift permanently to remote work, midsize US cities need to reshape themselves to woo remote workers

Selina The shift to remote work has affected where people live and has given workers more options. Small and midsize cities are changing their approach to economic development by luring remote workers. Cities should work to ensure a low cost of…

How to give America's dying malls the 2nd life they desperately need

Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. American malls have faced bankruptcy as a result of growing online spending and the…

The next stimulus bill should include government-issued vouchers for local restaurants

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images Restaurants, bars, and brick-and-mortar small businesses have been unequally impacted by the pandemic as US consumers stay home or spend more online. Past stimulus contributed to higher rates of savings among US…

If America wants to bounce back from the recession and grow the economy for years to come, we should push tech companies to move to midsize US cities

John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The geographic divides in America have split the country politically and economically. The tech sector has been a major driver of the economy since the last recession, but has grown…

Let Revels ride again, soon: Cars and trucks are causing the safety problem, not the mopeds

After two years and more than three million safe rides on Revels — New York’s only rideshare electric mopeds — two riders were victims of tragically fatal accidents in the span of a few days. The scooter company has agreed to turn off the ignition…

New York’s desirability may be dropping—if only temporarily

With hurricane-like force, the pandemic arrived in the city in March, shuttering schools, businesses and offices. For the first time in living memory, the city came to an abrupt halt. Many residents––nearly 420,000 of them––fled, hoping to avoid the…

New York and America need more mobile voting now

It’s a constellation of bad events occurring at the same time that could disrupt upcoming elections through to November. It reads like a dystopian thriller novel where everything that can potentially go wrong, does. A pandemic hits the U.S. during…

NYC requires a leaner, tech-driven government

Last summer when this year’s budget was passed, the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit fiscal monitor, pushed City Hall to prepare for a downturn by provisioning funds for a fiscal storm. They estimated a recession would reduce revenues by $20…

New York's trash troubles need tech solutions

New York City’s trash problems across the city are mounting. Black bags piled higher than most pedestrians line sidewalks daily, occasionally overflowing onto streets or sidewalks for passersby to hurdle. Leaking waste permeates the air with putrid…

Opinion: It's 2020 And Electric Bikes And Scooters Are Still Illegal In New York. How?

The Segway should have revolutionized personal transportation. The device supposedly destined to reshape the urban landscape was unveiled to a bemused audience on Good Morning America in December 2001. “Alright, there it is. Now what does it do?”…

Turn Rikers Island into a laboratory for city planning

Rarely does a swath of land half the size of Central Park become available as a blank canvas on which to add a section to New York’s skyline, but the closure of the jails at Rikers Island by 2026 presents exactly that. Rikers Island should be boldly…