NewGeography dot com

A new website has been launched, seemingly fashioned to counterbalance many of the urbanism sites that have a decidedly big-city focus. New Geography tips the balance towards suburban and small-town reporting. For instance, a recently posted piece about high energy costs, written by executive editor Joel Kotkin and managing editor Mark Schill, seeks to puncture the idea that big cities will benefit from high energy costs:

But these advantages are somewhat mitigated by the fact that these same cities often pay far more for energy than their rivals. Electricity in New York, notes an upcoming study by the New York-based Center for an Urban Future, costs twice the national average. California cities also suffer much higher prices -- almost 50 percent higher than their counterparts in the Midwest. So even if you use considerably less energy, you might end up paying more. Being a big, dense city clearly has advantages, but they too often are squandered by aging infrastructure, lack of new plants and high business costs.

You won't see a lot of trumpeting of the arts and culture as economic development engines or the "rise of the creative class," but counterintuitive articles about manufacturing and why Obama should trade liberal Chicago for libertarian Phoenix.

The site is well organized and very attractive. Check it out here.