Urban America,
for good or for worst, continues to hold a unique place in our history, culture
and hearts. For many states, urban
America is vital to the economic prosperity of a region, for tourism,
employment and the home to key county, state and federal government
services. Over the past three decades or so, a number of America cites have put forth significant efforts, initiatives and resources to the restoration of historical landmarks, points of interest, downtown buildings, parks, museums, theaters, lake fronts, harbors and surrounding communities. This all comes as a way to counter the effects of decades of neglect, suburban sprawl, and shifts in demographics, plight of residents, and the loss of good manufacturing jobs.
A Place Called Home
In his book, The Making of Urban America (1997), Raymond A.
Modl cites that, “it is the people-their lives, livelihoods, communities,
conflicts-which give cities their essential character.” Beyond its legacy,
urban America continues to be a place of great promise, opportunity, education
and new business enterprises. A number
of residents have found their way to the top in business, entertainment, sports
and society from urban America. For them, life has been good and they are proud
to be from the city.
However, a
vast majority of residents just want to make a living; the city is their home,
regardless of its success or failures. They
have grown up there, raised their families, attended college, and learned a
trade. Additionally, they have witnessed
the rise and fall of the modern city, the deterioration of vital
infrastructure, changing political climate, flight of residents, relocation and
the outsourcing of jobs overseas. But,
they still remain; they have learned how to survive through the good and the
worst of times.
Yet for others,
urban America continues to be full of disappointments, limited opportunities, crime,
injustice, prejudice and economic hardship.
With each passing day they continue to endure and survive the realities
of poor housing, poor schools, poor neighborhoods, dysfunctional families, lack
of employment and poverty. For them, trying
to get ahead is nearly impossible, just surviving each day is reality; they are
always looking for a better day and an opportunity to make it out of the “hood.”
The Road Ahead
The greatest
challenge for cities in the 21st Century continues to be how to
bring urban America back from the edges of economic and social disaster to forward
progress and prosperity. The task ahead for this kind of change is
tremendous and is no less daunting. So
much opportunity, so much promise and so much to get done...
Making urban
America an attractive place to live, work and play will continue to be a work
in progress. A lot is riding on the
success of new initiatives, investments and more to rebuild and revitalize
urban America. This includes how to attract
future businesses, industries and tourism to believe in urban American once
again. It also includes reaching out and
attracting a younger and more diverse generation to choose a promising urban
lifestyle over one in the “burbs.” In
addition, it also means that the people who live in urban American have to be
included in the “urban make over” plans and not left sitting on the
socioeconomic sidelines. The future and
promise of urban America is always brightest when it’s residents work together
to make it a place worth living for all.
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