Democracy, Inequality, Urban Policy

This chapter argues that American cities will not prosper unless the nation takes a new approach to urban policy. Indeed, federal agencies need to augment their contributions for housing, and metropolitan areas need inter-municipal coordination. Moreover, cities need enhanced environmental protection, accelerated economic development, and protection against abrupt real estate booms and busts. However, for such improvements to occur more often and more robustly, the nation must reject austerity and, together with the cities, improve policies for schools, food, and drugs. The evidence throughout this book shows that the deprivation that afflicts cities, inner suburbs, and their poorest inhabitants is not only immoral, but also politically and economically unsustainable. It is also economically illogical, and it may even be, as mainstream conservative politicians have begun to argue, politically suicidal.