Recently unveiled proposals to build America's tallest skyscraper in Oklahoma City represent an outdated way of thinking about cities' cultural status, writes Ryan Scavnicky.

The 20th-century American metropolis is failing in the 21st. Cities that once welcomed flocks of working-class citizens and immigrants are now playgrounds for wealthy oligarchs and real-estate moguls. Streets covered in unique family businesses from all parts of the world are now thickly encrusted with contrived food experiences and milquetoast fusion concepts (the recent loss of Suehiro in Los Angeles to a marijuana dispensary comes to mind).
The United States' largest cities have all but completely priced out middle-class life. A new study by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found that the number of "cost-burdened" renting households ? people who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing ? hit a record 22.4 million in 2022, up 2 million from just three years before. Meaning half of all renters struggle to afford rent. We desperately need more affordable housing, and our largest cities are seemingly incapable of keeping up. The plan has critics and neophytes alike scratching their heads
Enter the planned Boardwalk at Bricktown development in plucky Oklahoma City (OKC), which recently hit the headlines after the site's owners unveiled shocking plans to include the tallest building in the United States. In addition to a hotel and almost 2,000 residential units, the dev...