5 Ways Cities Will Counter the Populist Movement

A list of the ways cities will resist the anti-urban politics of the populist movements represented by President-elect Donald Trump and Brexit.

1 minute read

January 16, 2017, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Politics and protest

1000 Words / Shutterstock

"The populist tide sweeping Britain out of the EU and Donald Trump into the White House has unmoored the status quo in both countries," write Bruce Katz and Luise Noring for CityLab.

"For cities, the impact might be described as existential. The anti-trade, anti-immigration sentiment powering the populist movement is a rebuke of the openness and diversity that defines the modern global metropolis," they add.

Thus Katz and Noring take a page from Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities by predicting five identities that will emerge from U.S. and European cities "as they react both to political shifts and to market and demographic forces under way in our societies." Those five urban types, with more description for each found in the article:

  • The Besieged City
  • The Opposition City
  • The Progressive City
  • The Prosperous City
  • The Networked City

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