Bottom-Up Urban Revival in America

"We have elected the first president in decades from urban America–and he seems to get the regionalist mantra. Running a campaign that tied together voters from cities and suburbs, he promoted a metropolitan prosperity agenda in place of the usual anti-poverty bromides."

"Yet, the incoming president also faces a tough economy and a propensity for some to say that smart planning for social inclusion is a luxury we can ill afford in a time of economic crisis. This is exactly wrong: we are only as strong as our weakest link. And there's little doubt that the distributional excesses of the last decade are at least partly to blame for the mess we are in."

"Can we bubble up these regional efforts to a new national consensus on the importance of conversation, competitiveness, and cohesion?"