Preaching to the Choir | Feb 12th at 5:26pm
Right now Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution is preaching to the choir. He’s talking about how the new White House Office of Urban Policy (WHOUP) can reshape the conversation around our metropolitan regions. Federal agencies need to work together to address the interrelated issues of housing, transportation, poverty, economic development, and environment. Mr. Katz is talking about how WHOUP should be responsible for breaking down the silos of federal agencies.
What I want to hear is how we will give metro regions more power and more voice around the policy decisions that the federal government makes. The stimulus debate made clear to me that the vast majority of our members of Congress are not acting with the best interest of cities in mind. Cities continue to create innovative policies that address the issues facing not just our metropolitan regions, but the country as a whole. On MayorTV, a project of the Drum Major Institute, you can hear mayors talk about how the federal government continues to neglect the needs of our metro regions.
John Petro is an urban policy analyst at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy where he heads up the Progressive Urban Model Policies (PUMP) Project. The goal of PUMP is to facilitate progressive change in cities by helping local activists, organizers, and elected officials replicate and expand model policies in a number of key issue areas in urban policy.
Leigh in Boston, MA on Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 5:41pm
Word, John. DMI rocks!