PROFILE
FROM Aaron Renn
Will the United States Become the United Cities of America? The 50 United States are accidents of history, unrelated to current population density or productivity. They were never designed to solve today's problems. Now there's a movement for something new: connections across state borders between the vast metropolitan regions where power really lies. And cities around the world are getting together -- hoping to end national gridlock and address security, pandemic disease and climate change.
Will the United States Become the United Cities of America? The 50 United States are accidents of history, unrelated to current population density or productivity. They were never designed to solve today's problems. Now there's a movement for something new: connections across state borders between the vast metropolitan regions where power really lies. And cities around the world are getting together -- hoping to end national gridlock and address security, pandemic disease and climate change.
The Pros and Cons of "Smart Cities" Big tech companies including IBM and Cisco invented the idea of "smart cities" using Big Data to systematize public services and improve the quality of life. Complex networks of sensors and cameras would monitor everything from traffic congestion, crime and disease to temperatures and the weather. That's a hard sell to local officials with limited budgets — and it's raised concerns about the invasion of privacy and other abuses. But "The Internet of Things" offers limitless opportunities, and they're not going away. Neither are "smart cities." We get a progress report.
As Washington Looks the Other Way, Are Big Cities on Their Own? Detroit, New York and Boston are very different cities with something in common: local politics are undergoing historic change. Last month, all three elected populist new mayors, who focused on unemployment and income inequality. Race wasn't an issue at all. In New York, Bill de Blasio campaigned against what he called the "two cities" presided over by his billionaire predecessor Michael Bloomberg. In Boston, the white union leader, Marty Walsh, got crucial support from minority candidates and won with a multi-racial coalition. In Detroit, Mike Duggan became the first white mayor elected in a black-majority city in 40 years. Big cities like these are America's economic engines, but two-thirds have yet to recover after the Great Recession. Washington is no longer leading the way, so voters are turning to City Hall. We look at the opportunities and the challenges lying ahead.
As Washington Looks the Other Way, Are Big Cities on Their Own? Detroit, New York and Boston are very different cities with something in common: local politics are undergoing historic change. This month, all three elected populist new mayors, who focused on unemployment and income inequality. Race wasn't an issue at all. In New York, Bill de Blasio campaigned against what he called the "two cities" presided over by his billionaire predecessor Michael Bloomberg. In Boston, the white union leader, Marty Walsh, got crucial support from minority candidates and won with a multi-racial coalition. In Detroit, Mike Duggan became the first white mayor elected in a black-majority city in 40 years. Big cities like these are America's economic engines, but two-thirds have yet to recover after the Great Recession. Washington is no longer leading the way, so voters are turning to City Hall. We look at the opportunities and the challenges lying ahead.
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