Cities: September 2017 Archives

The Art of Being a Red State Liberal -- Strong Towns

"When you're in the minority, success is measured in inches.  It's not for the faint of heart. You have to be able to care and fight and lose, and somehow summon the hope to continue caring and fighting and losing, over and over again.  Until, eventually, maybe you win, just a little bit.

"But you'll never win if you don't respect the people who disagree with you."

Good advice for conservatives, too. And yes, Sarah Kobos is as gracious in conversation as she comes across in this essay.

Philadelphia's Placing a $500 Million Bet on Play - Next City

My first reaction to the headline was, "No city should be putting a half-billion-dollar bet on anything!" But the headline of this article doesn't reflect its contents. It's really about a lot of things: How rec centers can build community in a neighborhood, the importance of passionate volunteers from the neighborhood to make that happen, how to ensure that city grant money is effectively deployed, how to keep long-time rec center supporters engaged while making newcomers welcome in the decision-making process. There are many encouraging stories packed into this story, which is really about urban husbandry, and how to deploy a big pot of money strategically, and in small doses, to nurture signs of life around the city.