A New Urban Agenda
by Dan Walsh on February 19, 2008 in All Politics is Local: An Urban Policy Blog
The New York Times this morning has an op-ed about the need for a new urban agenda, and it reminded me that the major candidates for President have not yet laid out comprehensive visions for how they are going to improve American cities. The Times emphasizes the political reasons for the candidates’ lack of urban agendas–mainly that rural states hold early primaries, so the candidates must spend more time talking about rural issues. Although I agree that politics matters a great deal, and that Iowa’s issues are extremely important, politics isn’t solely to blame for the lack of attention to urban issues. The problem lies more with a lack of federal support for cities and weak coalitions of urban interests.
The op-ed highlights proposals put forward by a few of the candidates, and I agree with many of them. For example, I agree with the leading Democratic candidates in that it is ridiculous that the Earned Income Tax Credit has not been raised in fifteen years. EITC has shown itself to be an extremely effective at providing relief for America’s poorest working families. Furthermore, it provides incentives to lift them out of poverty – a long term solution rather than a band aid. However, this isn’t enough.
The article also talks about what Bloomberg is doing in New York. Bloomberg is doing some interesting things – notably his proactive approach to sustainability and going after out-of-town gun dealers, but most cities do not have his range of options. The article argues for national leadership, but I think it’s important to note that, like mayor Bloomberg, city leaders do not have to sit back and wait for Clinton, Obama or McCain to make up their mind about what to do with America’s cities. Let’s take a look at how our mid-range cities – cities such as Minneapolis, MN; Raleigh, NC; and Richmond, VA - are reshuffling the political deck and outlining visions for the future.
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