Capitol Rebuild: 2025 Takeaways
Thank you for being a part of this experiment
I started Capitol Rebuild last May because it was an idea I couldn’t get out of my head: why do some capital cities absolutely thrive, while others just run in place? Being fully aware that every capital can’t become Austin, it still didn’t make sense to me that you can have the entire power structure of a state in one place and not be able to build a city that represents the best of a state and serves as a catalyst for growth.
I had hoped to get further through the cities that make up this exclusive club of 50, and I appreciate everyone’s patience as the pace has slowed a bit. But once I really got into the project, it was clear that each of these cities deserved more than a once over of a Wikipedia entry and some hot planning takes. It’s been genuinely fascinating to dig through everything from influencers going to shady restaurants, to sizzle reels of amazing places to visit, to Redditors complaining about a city service and learn about each of these places. For smaller cities, I usually feel pretty confident after a few days of reading and watching videos. For larger cities, I’ve mostly gotten comfortable with the fact that I’m going to miss things or get stuff wrong (somehow my Phoenix post took off on LinkedIn’s Phoenix planning algorithm and I got flamed by a bunch of locals there).
First takeaway: I’m really enjoying the process (and wish I was putting out more frequent content).
Second takeaway: Climate is having a huge negative impact on the future of capital cities from Phoenix to Juneau. It reminds you how big this country is when you can talk about cities being too hot one week and the next talk about how glaciers melting are triggering immediate flooding disasters. This all continues to reinforce my belief in being long on the Midwest.
Third takeaway: Housing affordability is a problem everywhere.
Final takeaway: All of these cities have tons of potential. Whether it’s economic development, tourism, or arts, each of these places is its own snowflake, with real opportunities to create a better quality of life for residents. And there clearly isn’t one silver bullet that makes it happen (other than an organization that is a certified CDFI with a venture investment arm. Every city should have this).
City that surprised me the most: Santa Fe
City whose ranking that benefited the most from my experiences there: Indianapolis
City that I was definitely too hard on: Phoenix
It’s been a fun seven months putting this project together, and I really appreciate all the feedback people have given me (yes, even the folks in Phoenix). I’ve written plenty of things that have gone out to the public, but typically a lot of other eyes have seen them first. This is the first time I’ve just sent something out into the world without any other eyeballs on it, and that’s been equal parts fun and terrifying.
Thanks to everyone who gave me confidence at the beginning (here is where I namecheck Janette Sadik-Khan and Nicole Nason being the ones that had the biggest impact), and those who kept me going (most prominently Jonathan Smith and Toby Barlow). I’m lucky to have such a great network of smart, curious people who love cities.
On to 2026 and Juneau!