Brad Lander: A President for Cities

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Brad LanderMember, NY City Council

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There were many reasons to be a proud Democrat this past week.

The video celebrating Teddy Kennedy's extraordinary career as the liberal lion, fighting for civil rights and health care. Brilliant speeches from Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton. Elizabeth Warren not mincing words, but calling out a rigged system that too often rewards cheaters. A newfound commitment to LGBTQ equality and an affirmation of our commitment to women's equality in every domain (as someone whose wife works at Planned Parenthood NYC, I thought the speeches by Cecile Richards and Sandra Fluke were especially strong).

President Obama's stirring evocation of citizenship, "a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy, the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations."

As someone who has pushed in the past for Democrats to hold true to our core values, to stand up strong for opportunity, equality, and inclusion, I thought it was great to see our party willing to embrace its "base," which is, after all, just a word for the everyday Americans who make up the party.

Here's one more reason: Cities.

Democrats embrace and invest in cities. We recognize and value them as places of extraordinary vitality, where jobs are created, where diversity and tolerance are fostered, where immigrants are welcomed, and where those "obligations to one another" are addressed.

You could see it on display Tuesday night in speeches from Mayors Cory Booker (Newark), Rahm Emanuel (Chicago), and especially Julian Castro (San Antonio). You can see it in the Democratic platform as well, which recommits to creating livable cities, with investments in mass transit and bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The party believes in funding community development, job training, and affordable housing (as you might expect from a president who got his start "helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill"). The Republican platform sees things differently, criticizing Democrats for pursuing "an exclusively urban vision of dense housing and government transit."

And you can see the Democratic commitment on the ground -- in the projects funded with stimulus dollars that continue to refurbish our parks, public transit, roads and bridges (including the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the great symbols of American cities). When cities were reeling from budget woes they didn't cause, federal dollars kept our teachers, police, and trash collectors on the job.

Of course, there is much more to do, if we really want to follow through on our commitment to cities. Over the next four years, I would like to see a visionary investment in our public realm and our economy. Economists across the political spectrum agree that direct investments in infrastructure are the best way for the government to create jobs, especially now with interest rates at historic lows. Like a New Deal for the 21st Century, we can build schools, parks, libraries, public housing, and mass transit, while tackling high unemployment across the country (in NYC, it is still above 10 percent).

So, if you love cities, if you see them as the places where -- at least in large measure -- the promise of America, the ideal of citizenship highlighted by the president, can be fulfilled... you have one more reason to get busy over the next two months and to keep pushing for real change for our country over the next four years.

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Post to Facebook. Post to Blogger. Post to Twitter. Post to WordPress. Post to TypePad. Post to Tumblr. Post to Yahoo! Blogger login: Blogger password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Wordpress host: Wordpress login: Wordpress password: Remember me: TypePad host: TypePad login: TypePad password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Tumblr login: Tumblr password: Remember me: Community Notice:  We've made some changes to our badge program, including the addition
of our newest badge: Community Curator. View All Recency |  Popularity This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program antaeusMarriage Equality Is Here1268 Fans 4 hours ago ( 8:35 PM)We've had three centuries to get our cities right, so why do they compare so unfavorably with European cities, which are quieter, cleaner, and have better public spaces and transportation?

Of course one reason is our feeble tax collection, and I don't see much to celebrate in the corporatist Democrats who love Wall Street and the status quo.antaeus: We've had three centuries to get our cities right, sohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/antaeus/obama-convention-speech-2012_b_1865321_185512541.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… HUFFPOST SUPER USERhagagagaNew Mexico Military Institute criminal justice527 Fans   10 hours ago ( 2:58 PM)I don't love cities. They have too many people. I'm happy in my suburban Virginia hometown (although I like suburban areas, I always avoided getting closer to DC than necessary) and the rural New Mexico town that I'm currently attending college in.hagagaga: I don't love cities. They have too many people. I'mhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hagagaga/obama-convention-speech-2012_b_1865321_185435294.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… mceades40 Fans   10:04 PM on 09/08/2012Of course Republicans hate cities. Right-wingers have always hated cities.

Cities are centers of cultural diversity, cosmopolitanism, and social liberalism. Immigrants, intellectuals, artists, and alternative lifestyle enthusiasts all concentrate in cities. Urban residents have higher levels of educational attainment, are more likely to have traveled abroad, to speak a foreign language, and to feel comfortable among neighbors of diverse cultural backgrounds than rural residents. In many respects a resident of New York has more in common with his or her fellow urbanites in London or Tokyo than with rural Americans.

Cities are also the future of America: More than 80% of Americans now live in urban areas, and that proportion is growing, as urban areas account for most of the entire country's population growth. As immigrants contribute both to America's urban growth and and to its growing diversity, young Americans from conservative rural areas with limited opportunities are also moving to cities and becoming liberals. While rural areas full of old white people remain mired in the parochialism of the past, diverse cities point the way to a cosmopolitan future.

All this is good news for progressives and Democrats, and bad news for Republicans.mceades: Of course Republicans hate cities. Right-wingers have always hated cities.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mceades/obama-convention-speech-2012_b_1865321_185275744.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… kwco6 Fans 05:47 PM on 09/08/2012And what If I don't like cities? What if I don't want to live in one? What if i would rather be left alone to live my life on my own terms? I guess it's to hell with me and what I want as far as the Dems are concerned.kwco: And what If I don't like cities? What if Ihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/kwco/obama-convention-speech-2012_b_1865321_185217946.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…    new comment(s) on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… 1 2 3 4 5 See All Highlights in × people have highlighted this! Huzzah! This text has been highlighted.

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