Tag Archives: Cities

The interim mayors between the Daleys were…

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“…The interim mayors between the Daleys were creatures of the Chicago Machine. Mayors Harold Washington and Jane Byrne were insiders. They knew how the city worked. They knew, for better or worse, what had to be done day to day to keep Chicago afloat.

“Even though both instituted changes, City Hall was business as usual. Just the names of people in charge changed. In the case of Harold Washington, the racial make up of those in charge also changed.

“We are living in a new era. New politicians with business experience are being elected from both parties at all levels of government. Governance is being managed like a business where costs, revenues, and debt are balanced against essential and non-essential services that make government operate.

“Neo-Libs and Neo-Cons are dirty words to progressive organizations and public employee unions. The new politicians, from both parties, are the enemy of progressives and arch conservatives alike.

“What all the protesters, activists, public employee labor unions, and other progressive travelers seem to forget is this salient point. At the end of the day, the real 99% of Chicagoans only care that the garbage gets picked up, the street lights are working, the police or fire department will show up quickly, the streets get plowed in the winter, public transportation is running, food service in stores and restaurants is sanitary, and traffic is controlled or at least controllable.

“The real 99% only care about coping with the challenges of day to day living in Chicago.

“Richard J. Daley, Jane Byrne, Harold Washington, Richard M. Daley, and now, Rahm Emanuel understand the real 99%. They gave and are giving them what they want. All the rest is window dressing, bread and circuses.

“If you lived in Chicago long enough, worked for the city, reported from the trenches, or really studied Chicago history and politics for a long time, you would know this.”

“…Times change. Politics changes. But, at the end of the day, Chicago’s population wants the city to work without making more sacrifices than necessary. Sacrifice being defined as taxation, fees, and fines.

“People are willing to pay some to get a lot.

“People are not willing to experience fiscal pain to satisfy others.”

http://www.chicagonow.com/interesting-chicago/2013/11/mayor-1-a-dud-book-review/

We can’t continue boasting our industry’s “innovation”…

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“We can’t continue boasting our industry’s “innovation” and how much we’re “changing the world” when we can’t even take care of people’s basic needs literally right outside these companies’ front doors.


“This isn’t just a San Francisco or tech-industry problem, but there isn’t another place in America that illustrates the problem quite as clearly, sadly, and disturbingly.


“Governments should be fixing this problem, but they have mostly failed due to public ignorance, judgment, and apathy. If you really want to be “disruptive” and have a meaningful impact on the world, disrupt the way our cities and citizens treat those less fortunate than the rich young people ordering overpriced burritos from their phones to avoid going outside.”

http://projects.sfchronicle.com/sf-homeless/civic-disgrace/

End of nations Is there an alternative to…

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End of nations: Is there an alternative to countries?

Nation states cause some of our biggest problems, from civil war to climate inaction. Science suggests there are better ways to run a planet

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329850-600-end-of-nations-is-there-an-alternative-to-countries/

because of the aging of the population…

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“…because of the aging of the population, the federal government is about to shift an enormous amount of resources towards health care of the elderly. I think over time, that’s going to put a lid on things like investment in infrastructure and education. And that’s why you see cities and metros stepping up.”


“Cities are not governments.”


“Our book tell stories where what you see are networks working together to organize themselves in more strategic ways. That’s what cities and metros do so differently from the state and federal level, which are really just governments.”


“One thing that’s really interesting about cities is this is where elected leaders use their informal power as much as their formal power, like when you see Bloomberg after the recession pulling together leaders to say ‘what’s our game changer?’ That’s how they came up with the Applied Science District. They have a new role now. It’s not just running their governments but also helping to convene disparate stakeholders.”


“The message is ‘you have power.’ The power, to some extent, starts with using the local government to convene stakeholders. You form a network, and whatever the problem is, find the right government, civic, corporate, university and labor leaders to start cracking the code.


“The economic structures of the metros are really different from each other. So the last part is find out what’s your game changer. In New York, it was the Applied Sciences Initiative. In L.A. and Denver, it was transit. This is the Dolly Parton line, “find out who you are, and do it on purpose.” What’s going to make your metropolis stand out among the crowd?


“In some ways, this should be liberating. It’s the quintessential American value. We’re basically saying, ‘roll up your sleeves and solve problems.’ Who else do you think will? You’re on your own. We’re not celebrating a moment here. It’s the harsh reality.”


— Bruce Katz, The Metropolitan Revolution

http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwatch/gov-examining-the-ongoing-metropolitan-revolution-power-of-cities-bruce-katz.html