January 25, 2006

SPEECH TO THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, WASHINGTON, DC 

WANT TO THANK YOU ALL, AND ESPECIALLY MAYOR O'NEILL, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU TODAY. THE WORK YOU ARE ALL DOING IN CITIES HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL THAN IT IS TODAY.

CITIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE CENTERS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION. FOR THREE THOUSAND YEARS IN EVERY PART OF THE WORLD CITIES HAVE HARNESSED THE ENERGIES OF PEOPLE, CREATING OUR TECHNOLOGY, CULTURAL FORMS, ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND RELIGION.

YET THIS ROLE --- PARTICULARLY HERE IN AMERICA --- IS NOW MORE IN DOUBT THAN EVER BEFORE. CITIES NOW FACE UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES IN THEIR STRUGGLE TO PERFORM THEIR BASIC HISTORIC ROLES.

THE RISE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS MAKES MORE AND MORE OF WHAT CITIES HAVE HISTORICALLY DONE CONTESTABLE BY OTHER GEOGRAPHIES --- NOT JUST FROM SUBURBS BUT ALSO FROM THE FAR-FLUNG COUNTRYSIDE AND FROM OTHER PLACES AROUND THE WORLD.

TO WITHSTAND THIS COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE, CITIES NEED TO BE STRONGER IN ALL THE ESSENTIAL AREAS. WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT OCCURRED THIS FALL IN NEW ORLEANS WAS NOT SIMPLY A PHYSICAL DISASTER, BUT THE RESULT OF A DEEP-SEATED ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC MALAISE THAT INFECTS MOST URBAN AREAS.

THESE REALITIES ARE OBSCURED BY THE HYPE AND HOOPLA SURROUNDING MANY CITIES TODAY. DELUDED BY THE CURRENT SPECULATIVE REAL ESTATE MARKET, THEY THINK THEY ARE RESTORING THEIR HEALTH WITH A LITTLE PLASTIC SURGERY. JUST ADD A STARKITECH -DESIGNED ART CENTER, BASEBALL STADIA, A PERFORMING ARTS PALACE, OR SOME YUPPIE LOFTS AND COOL BARS, AND PEOPLE THINK THEY CAN DECLARE PROUDLY THAT CITIES ARE BACK.

THIS IS LARGELY DELUSIONAL. SOME OF YOU MAY NOT WANT TO LISTEN WITH WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SHARE WITH YOU. SOME WILL CLAIM THAT WHAT I AM SAYING IS 'ANTI-CITY'. THAT IS A COP OUT AND INACCURATE --- I LOVE CITIES AND HAVE STUDIED THEM FOR DECADES. I LIVE IN ONE --- LOS ANGELES --- AND GREW UP IN ANOTHER. MANY OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES INVOLVE WALKING THROUGH MANHATTAN WITH MY GRANDMOTHER IN WHAT IS NOW THE EAST VILLAGE.

LIKE MOST OF YOU, CITIES ARE IN MY BLOOD, AND IN MY FAMILY'S HERITAGE. YET WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CITIES IS NOT SO MUCH THEIR AESTHETICS AS THE ROLE THEY HAVE PLAYED IN TAKING NEWCOMERS FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE OR FROM ABROAD AND PROVIDING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASCEND, FIRST INTO THE WORKING CLASS AND THEN INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS.

THIS IS THE ESSENTIAL WORK OF CITIES, WHETHER A DENSE COMMUNITY WITH THREE HUNDRED YEARS HISTORY OR A NEW CITY CREATED OUT IN THE SUNLANDS OF THE SOUTHWEST. JANE JACOBS GOT IT RIGHT FORTY YEARS AGO. "A METROPOLITAN ECONOMY, IF IT IS WORKING WELL, "SHE OBSERVED , " IS CONSTANTLY TRANSFORMING MANY POOR PEOPLE INTO MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE...GREENHORNS INTO COMPETENT CITIZENS...CITIES DON'T LURE THE MIDDLE CLASS, THEY CREATE IT ."

THE GENIUS OF TURN OF THE CENTURY NEW YORK WAS FOUND IN THOSE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS THAT PROVIDED THE LADDER OF OPPORTUNITY --- ITS LIBRARIES AND STRONG SCHOOLS, ITS PORT, ITS FACTORIES AND THRIVING COMMERCIAL ZONES.

TODAY ,INSTEAD OF NURTURING ITS MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS, MOST ATTENTION IS SPENT ON WHAT MS. JACOBS WOULD CALL "LURING" WEALTHY RETIREES, HIP AND COOL YOUNG PEOPLE AND OTHER NOMADIC TYPES.

THIS STRATEGY HAS BEEN FASHIONABLE FOR A DECADE BUT I THINK IT'S CLEAR THAT, FOR THE MOST PART, IT IS NOT WORKING. FIRST LET'S LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING ECONOMICALLY. THE RECENT REPORT ISSUED BY MICHAEL PORTER ON THE STATE OF OUR CORE CITIES. DR. PORTER FOUND OVERALL INNER CITY EMPLOYMENT BETWEEN 1995 AND 2003 WAS ROUGHLY ONE-THIRD THAT OF THEIR SURROUNDING MSAS.

RECENT DATA ALSO SUGGESTS THIS SAME OUTBOUND TREND IS TAKING PLACE IN CRITICAL SECTORS FOR UPWARD MOBILITY INCLUDING BLUE-COLLAR SECTORS SUCH AS MANUFACTURING AND WAREHOUSING AS WELL AS IN HIGH-END BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES.

THIS IS BORNE OUT IN THE VERY PHYSICAL SHAPE OF CITIES. SINCE THE MID-90S THE VAST MAJORITY OF OFFICE CONSTRUCTION --- A SIGN OF WHERE WORK IS GOING --- HAS BEEN SHIFTING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE PERIPHERY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS OCCURRED IN GOOD TIMES FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.

NOW SOME PEOPLE WILL POINT OUT THAT MANY OF THESE OFFICES AND FACTORIES ARE NOW BEING TURNED INTO HOUSING. THIS IS TRUE, AND BY ITSELF, REPRESENTS A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT. YET IT ALSO REVEALS THAT CITIES' ECONOMIC BASE IS ERODING AWAY FROM KEY TRADED SECTORS AND TOWARDS A ROLE, IN SOME PLACES, AS A KIND OF  DISNEYLAND FOR ADULTS.

THERE ARE ALSO DISTURBING TRENDS ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC FRONT. MUCH TALK IS MADE ABOUT DOWNTOWN RESURGENCES BUT THEY ARE MORE VISIBLE THAN STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. IN THE PAST THIRTY YEARS, SAYS A RECENT BROOKINGS STUDY OF 45 MAJOR US CITIES, DOWNTOWNS ADDED SOME 35,000 NEW HOUSING UNITS-- A NINE PERCENT GROWTH --WHILE THEIR SUBURBS EXPANDED BY 13 MILLION UNITS.

INDEED, OVERALL URBAN POPULATION GROWTH, AFTER A NICE RESURGENCE IN THE LATE 1990S, HAS SLOWED DOWN CONSIDERABLY. SINCE 2000, EVEN SOME OF OUR MOST ATTRACTIVE CITIES -- BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, and MINNEAPOLIS -- HAVE STARTED AGAIN TO LOSE POPULATION.

ALSO SINCE 2000, THE OVERALL OUT-MIGRATION FROM MOST LARGE METRO AREAS IS ON THE RISE, TO OVER TWO MILLION SINCE 2000. MORE AND MORE UPWARDLY MOBILE IMMIGRANTS APPEAR TO BE FOLLOWING THEM.

AS A RESULT, MANY CITIES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY THE CENTERS OF A BIFURCATED AMERICA. ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE WEALTHY AND TALENTED PEOPLE --- MANY OF THEM YOUNG AND CHILDLESS --- MOVING TO OUR CITIES. IN CONTRAST, A LARGER GROUP, CONSTITUTING PEOPLE OVER 35 AND FAMILIES ARE LEAVING.

THINK OF WHAT THIS MEANS: MOST OF AMERICA'S FUTURE GENERATIONS, PARTICULARLY THE UPWARDLY MOBILE, ARE BEING REARED WITH LITTLE OR NO MEMORY OF CITY LIFE.

AT SOME STAGE, THEY MAY REGARD THE CITY AS A GREAT PLACE TO PARTY, AND PERHAPS ENJOY THOSE YEARS WHEN THEY ARE NOT COMMITTED TO ANOTHER PERSON. BUT THEN THEY MOST OFTEN LEAVE TAKING THEIR COMMITMENT, THEIR TALENTS AND THEIR MONEY ELSEWHERE.

YET THE GREATEST DANGER OF ALL LIES IN THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND. FORTY YEARS AFTER PRESIDENT JOHNSON PLEDGED TO ELIMINATE URBAN POVERTY; CITIES REMAIN BY FAR THE LARGEST CENTERS OF CONCENTRATED POVERTY. THEY ALSO HAVE THE WORST SCHOOLS AND THE HIGHEST CRIME.

THESE POOR PEOPLE INCLUDE TWO GROUPS --- ONE OUR TRADITIONALLY DISENFRANCHISED POPULATION, LARGELY AFRICAN AMERICAN. THE OTHER, WHICH IS GROWING RAPIDLY, IS MADE UP OF IMMIGRANTS, MANY OF THEM WORKING PEOPLE.

CITIES NEED TO GIVE PRIORITY TO HELPING SUCH PEOPLE MAKE IT INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS. THIS MEANS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, SHIFTING AWAY FROM THE CURRENT EMPHASIS ON BIG COSMETIC PROJECTS TO ADDRESSING ESSENTIALS LIKE GOOD-PAYING JOBS, BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING .

I AM SURE MAYOR NAGIN, IN PARTICULAR, IS CONFRONTING THESE ISSUES. FOR EXAMPLE THERE IS SO MUCH DISCUSSION NOW IN THE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE WORLD ABOUT PRESERVING THE GREAT CULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL ASSETS OF NEW ORLEANS. YET I HEAR FAR LESS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS? IS ANYONE ASKING IF THE CHRONICALLY UNEMPLOYED CAN BE TRAINED TO TAKE THE LEAD IN THE REBUILDING --- AND USE THIS TRAGEDY TO DEVELOP SKILLS THAT WILL GET THEM INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS?

THIS CAME UP RECENTLY WHEN I WAS IN HOUSTON INTERVIEWING EVACUEES FROM KATRINA. ONE YOUNG MAN, A STUDENT FROM TULANE, SAID WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT ATTEMPTS TO PRESERVE THE GREAT PLACES OF NEW ORLEANS, HE HAD MIXED FEELINGS. 'THEY ARE TRYING TO BUILD A SHINING CITY ON THE HILL --- BUT WITHOUT THE PEOPLE.'

YET WHAT ARE CITIES OTHER THAN THE COLLECTIVE WILL AND ENERGIES OF THEIR PEOPLE? THIS SEEMS PRETTY BASIC.

SO WE HAVE TO START GETTING SERIOUS HERE --- AND LOOK INTO WHAT MAKES CITIES SUCCEED, AND FAIL. THIS IS A QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN ASKED SINCE AT LEAST THE TIMES OF THE GREAT GREEK HISTORIAN HERODOTUS. HE NOTED THAT MANY OF THE CITIES THAT HAD BEEN GREAT IN HIS CHILDHOOD WERE NOW SMALL WHILE MANY THAT HAD BEEN SMALL NOW HAD BECOME GREAT.

WHAT FACTORS MAKE FOR THE SUCCESS OF GREAT CITIES, AND WHAT THINGS CONDITION THEIR DECLINE. IN ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE OVER TIME, WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IS THAT SUCCESSFUL CITIES EVERYWHERE, AND IN ALL TIMES, SHARE MANY BASIC CHARACTERISTICS.

THE BOOK STARTS WITH THE DIARIES OF BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, A FOOT SOLDIER IN CORTÉS' ARMY OF CONQUEST. HERE'S A MAN FROM A SMALL CITY IN CENTRAL SPAIN WHO ENCOUNTERS SOMETHING THAT, WHILE TOTALLY ALIEN, IS ALSO FAMILIAR.

AS BERNAL DIAZ HEADS INTO THE VALLEY OF MEXICO HE SEES TENOCHTITLÁN, THE CAPITAL OF THE AZTECS, AND IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZES THE BASIC OUTLINES OF A CITY. IT IS, FIRST AND FOREMOST, A SACRED PLACE, WITH A GREAT TEMPLE IN ITS MIDDLE. IT IS SECONDLY A FORT AND SECURE PLACE, PROTECTED BY CANALS AND WALLS. THIRD, IT IS A CITY OF COMMERCE, WITH VAST MARKETS THAT REMINDED SOME OF BERNAL DIAZ'S SOLDIERS OF SIMILAR MARKETPLACES IN ROME, OR PARIS, OR VENICE.

THESE THREE CHARACTERISTICS --- THE SACRED, SAFE AND BUSY -- ARE THE THINGS THAT I BELIEVE ANIMATE CITIES. THE WAXING OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS SIGNALS THE RISE OF A CITY; THE WANING ITS DECLINE. THEY ARE THE ESSENTIAL URBAN DNA, TRANSCENDING TIME AND SPACE, PLACE AND RACE. BY THE SACRED I REFER TO THOSE THINGS THAT CONNECT PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY WITH A PLACE. ROME, AS THE HISTORIAN NOTED, WAS 'IMPREGNATED BY RELIGION' --- ITS GREATNESS LAY NOT IN ITS LOCATION OR ITS PHYSICAL RESOURCES, BUT IN THE SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT OF ITS CITIZENS TO THEIR PLACE.

IN THIS SENSE, I REGARD THE DECLINE OF CHURCHES AND TEMPLES IN MANY CITIES AS A TRAGEDY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. DEVELOPERS MIGHT SEE DISCARDED CHURCHES AS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP YUPPIE HOUSING, RUG STORES OR DISCOTHEQUES, BUT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF CITIES, IT MEANS THE LOSS OF ONE CRITICAL PIECE OF THE SOCIAL WEB --- PARTICULARLY FOR FAMILIES --- THAT KEEPS A CITY TOGETHER.

OF COURSE, THE SACRED EXTENDS BEYOND JUST THE RELIGIOUS. THE GREAT PARKS, BUILDINGS AND PLACES --- AND OUR NEIGHBORHOODS --- ARE ALSO PART OF THE SACRED SPACE.

THIS SENSE OF IDENTITY AND COMMITMENT TO CITY LIFE IS PERHAPS EVEN MORE CRITICAL TODAY GIVEN THE CHALLENGE OR THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REVOLUTION. CITY DWELLERS MUST HAVE AN URBAN FAITH, OR THE CITY WILL CEASE TO EXIST AS A BREATHING VITAL ENTITY. THE SECOND MAJOR CHARACTERISTIC OF CITIES IS SECURITY. IF TEMPLES WERE NOT THE FIRST STRUCTURES BUILT IN CITIES, WALLS WERE. THROUGH HISTORY MORE CITIES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY BARBARIAN MARAUDERS THAN ANY SINGLE CAUSE --- AND OTHERS HAVE SUCCEEDED BECAUSE THEY WERE SEEN AS PLACES OF RELATIVE SAFETY.

TODAY WE HAVE MARAUDERS AT OUR DOORSTEP IN THE FORM OF TERRORISTS. THEIR GOAL IS NOT ONLY TO KILL OUR SOLDIERS ABROAD BUT DESTROY OUR CITIES. THE ATTACK ON THE WORLD TRADE CENTER WAS CONSCIOUS --- AN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE EPICENTER OF THE WORLD'S --- AND AMERICA'S --- GREATEST CITY.

FOR THESE REASONS, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZE THAT THE FRONT LINE IN THE TERROR WAR LIES NOT IN THE DISTANT MIDDLE EAST BUT IN OUR GREAT CITIES. THE TERRORISTS LONG TERM GOAL IS NOT TO DESTROY BAGHDAD OR AMMAN BUT NEW YORK, WASHINGTON OR LOS ANGELES.

YET THERE IS ANOTHER SECURITY THREAT WHICH COULD BE RE-APPEARING: THE SPECTER OF A RESURGENCE OF CRIME IN SOME OF OUR MAJOR CITIES

AFTER THE GAINS OF THE 1990S, IT SEEMS THE DROP IN VIOLENT CRIME RATE IS SLOWING AND EVEN REVERSING IN SOME CITIES. THINK OF THIS: IN BALTIMORE, AN HOUR FROM HERE, HALF OR MORE OF ALL AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES BETWEEN 20 AND 30 YEARS OF AGE ARE EITHER IN JAIL OR ON PROBATION.

PERHAPS EVEN MORE DISTURBING, THIS SAME PATTERN COULD BE SPREADING TO THE NEW URBANITIES, THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN WHO MAKE UP SUCH A GROWING PORTION OF CITY-DWELLERS.

RECENTLY I WAS ON A PLANE FLYING BACK TO LA FROM RENO AND SAT NEXT TO A DETECTIVE WITH THE LAPD. HE HAD ATTENDED A CONFERENCE ON GANGS AND SHOWED ME PICTURES OF GANG MEMBERS NOT ONLY IN LA, BUT IN CITIES LIKE RENO, PHOENIX AND EVEN IN SUBURBAN VIRGINIA.

THESE ALIENATED YOUNG PEOPLE --- TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WHOM ARE IMBEDDED IN GANG CULTURE - REPRESENT AS GREAT A CHALLENGE TO OUR CITIES AS ANY ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST.

SO THIS LEADS ME TO THE THIRD, AND TO ME, MOST CRUCIAL ASPECT OF URBAN SUCCESS--- BUILDING A THRIVING ECONOMY. WHAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE LACK IS A SENSE OF HOPE THAT LIFE CAN GET BETTER.

WE CAN, AND MUST, DO MORE FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR PARENTS. WHAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON NOW --- LIKE ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS, CONVENTIONS, AND BALL STADIUMS --- DOES NOT SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THIS. ULTIMATELY BREAD AND CIRCUSES DID NOT WORK IN ANCIENT ROME; AND IT WON'T IN MODERN AMERICAN CITIES EITHER.

WE CAN SEE THIS IN MANY CITIES WHICH HAVE RESTORED A DISTRICT OR TWO, EVEN AS THE CITY LOSES JOBS AND POPULATION. IN THE END WE MAY END UP SIMPLY BUILDING POTEMKIN CITIES ---  CITIES THAT ARE INCREASINGLY BIFURCATED AND IRRELEVANT.

IT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE FOR US TO FOCUS ON MORE BASIC ISSUES , LIKE GROWTH AND RETENTION OF JOBS, PARTICULARLY THE GOOD BLUE-COLLAR ONES. IN MOST CITIES, THESE JOBS ARE BEING PUSHED OUT, SOMETIMES HASTENED BY TAXES AND REGULATIONS. OFTEN IT IS ALSO A QUESTION OF SKILLS --- COMPANIES COMPLAIN THEY CAN'T GET SKILLED WORKERS IN CITIES ANYMORE.

SO PERHAPS WE OUGHT TO REALIZE, AS A FRIEND OF MINE RECENTLY PUT IT, WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS MORE MACHINISTS AND FEWER POETS. THESE KIND OF JOBS, PLUS THOSE IN BUSINESS SERVICE SECTOR, CAN PROVIDE THE RUNGS OF THE LADDER OF SUCCESS THAT I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER.

RIGHT NOW MANY CITIES ARE DOING A BETTER JOB OF SAWING DOWN THESE RUNGS THAN BUILDING THEM. SOME THINK THEY CAN MAKE UP FOR A DIMINISHING PRIVATE SECTOR BY TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM THE REMAINING MIDDLE CLASS TO THE POOR IN GOVERNMENT JOBS, PROJECTS OR GOVERNMENT-BACKED HOUSING. THIS APPROACH HAS BEEN TRIED FOR NEARLY FORTY YEARS --- NOT ONLY HERE BUT AROUND THE WORLD --- AND EVERYWHERE IT HAS FAILED.

SO WHAT DO I PROPOSE? CLEARLY, CITIES HAVE TO BECOME MORE BUSINESS FRIENDLY, PARTICULARLY TO SMALLER FIRMS. THE ENTREPRENEUR HAS TO FEEL SECURE ABOUT THE CITY --- BOTH PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY --- THAT THEIR EFFORTS WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO CAPRICIOUS TAXATION AND REGULATION.

YOU CAN NOT ADDRESS POVERTY IN THE LONG RUN BY OFFENDING BUSINESS. REMEMBER THERE IS A LOT MORE MONEY IN PRIVATE HANDS THAN IN THE GOVERNMENT. THEY CAN BUILD FAR MORE HOUSING AND CREATE FAR MORE LONG-TERM JOBS THAN CITY HALL CAN OR SHOULD.

YET I DO SEE A POWERFUL ROLE FOR GOVERNMENT IN THIS PROCESS. ONLY GOVERNMENT REASONABLY CAN BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE, PROTECT THE PUBLIC, EDUCATE THE CHILDREN, PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELEVANT JOB SKILLS, AND KEEP THE CITY CLEAN AND WELL-FUNCTIONING.

THIS MAY BE NOT AS INSTANTANEOUSLY ALLURING AS BUILDING CONVENTION CENTERS OR ART MUSEUMS OR PALACES FOR THE NFL, BUT THESE BASICS WILL PROVE INFINITELY MORE IMPORTANT. NOR DO I SEE THIS APPROACH IN PARTISAN TERMS. AS FIORELLO LA GUARDIA ONCE NOTED, THERE IS NO DEMOCRATIC OR REPUBLICAN WAY TO CLEAN THE STREETS.

IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO REALIZING THAT WHAT MAKES GREAT URBAN PLACES --- WHETHER IN 15TH CENTURY VENICE, 17TH CENTURY HOLLAND OR 20TH CENTURY NEW YORK --- IS MAKING THEM WORK AS PLACES OF ASPIRATION.

THIS APPROACH IS PARTICULARLY CRITICAL FOR THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN WHO CONSTITUTE THE MAJORITY OF NEW URBANITES IN MANY CITIES TODAY. THESE NEWCOMERS USUALLY COME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH A GREAT WORK ETHIC AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT . INDEED , AS DR. PORTER NOTES, OVER THE PAST DECADE THE CITIES WHERE THEY PREDOMINATE HAVE DONE BEST IN CREATING NEW JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES . BUT WE MUST THINK MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE PEOPLE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEIR CHILDREN IN THE DECADES AHEAD. FOR THEM, FOR OUR MIDDLE CLASS AND OUR NATIVE BORN POOR, WE MUST MAKE IT SO THAT CITIES ENGAGE IN BUILDING THE RUNGS FOR UPWARD MOBILITY, NOT TEARING THEM DOWN. HISTORY SUGGESTS THAT SUCCESSFUL CITIES MUST DO THIS REMARKABLY WELL; CITIES THAT DON'T USUALLY FAIL UNDER THE PRESS OF POVERTY AND CLASS CONFLICT. IF A LARGE PORTION OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CITY FEELS THEY HAVE NO FUTURE , IT ULTIMATELY WILL HAVE NONE. SO IN THE END I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH THIS: A SUCCESSFUL CITY MUST BE MORE THAN A CONSTRUCT OF DIVERSIONS FOR ESSENTIALLY NOMADIC POPULATIONS; IT REQUIRES AN ENGAGED AND COMMITTED CITIZENRY WITH A LONG-TERM FINANCIAL AND FAMILIAL STAKE IN THE METROPOLIS.

A SUCCESSFUL CITY STARTS NOT WITH EDGY CLUBS, MUSEUMS AND RESTAURANTS BUT SPECIALIZED INDUSTRIES, SMALL BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS AND NEIGHBORHOODS CAPABLE OF REGENERATING THEMSELVES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. IF THE CITY IS HEALTHY, ASSUREDLY THE AMENITIES AND THE ARTS WILL FOLLOW, AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE. BUT BEFORE GETTING THERE, CITIES FIRST MUST CREATE WEALTH, PRESERVE, AND NURTURE AND GROW ITS MIDDLE CLASS. THEY CAN APPEAL TO THE HIGHEST ASPIRATIONS OF HUMANITY BUT ONLY AFTER MEETING THE BASIC NEEDS OF ITS PEOPLE FOR SAFETY AND SUCCOR.

THIS IS THE PRIMARY CHALLENGE OF THOSE WHO, LIKE YOU, LEAD THEM TODAY . HOW THIS CHALLENGE IS MET WILL DETERMINE WHETHER WE CAN CREATE AN URBAN RENAISSANCE NOT ONLY FOR THE FEW, BUT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AS WELL. THANK YOU

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