With the establishment of the new office of Urban Affairs, President Obama is signaling the importance of cities to the social fabric and economic engine of the country. I applaud the effort and believe it is critical. But some friendly advice to the new head and his staff--read the history.
After spending the last semester studying urban policy I can say without reservation that it has historically been a political mess for the most part. Policy has been driven by the presidents with bunch of special interests trying to move it in one way or the other. We have tried almost everything with not enough success. Take some time, read some books, study the results of policy, and come up with things that will change the prospects for cities and the people who live in them once and for all.
I think the same advice could be given for rural policy where "rural" often translates into "agriculture".
Posted by: Mike | May 05, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Mike,
I couldn't agree more. We did some work this semester on rural policy and for the most part I could not find any silver lining there either. What are you reading that is good on rural development?
Suzanne
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