The New Urban Crisis, by Richard Florida

How our cities are increasing inequality, deepening segregation and failing the middle class — and what we can do about it.

 

THe New Urban Crisis book cover

Richard Florida spoke recently at Ohio State.

What he said made my hair stand on end. 

He reported that Columbus is the second most segregated city in the United States.

After that, I had to get his book. I was surprised to find he didn’t mention Columbus once! It’s odd, given that he used to live here.

Nevertheless, this book is worth picking up and reading. The points he makes apply to Columbus as much as they do to Los Angeles, New York or Miami.


He reminds us that not only do most people live in cities, but also cities are the drivers of economic growth. Our economy is as healthy as our city citizens are and vice versa.

 

Building roads and fixing bridges may be needed, but those short-term efforts won’t fix what’s wrong.

It’s true we need a sound infrastructure, but a future sound infrastructure probably won’t look like the one we have now, and it won’t mean much if poverty is endemic.

Poverty is about money. Simply put, Florida says everyone who works should make a living wage. He also highlights the imperative for:

  • More affordable rental housing
  • The need to contain urban sprawl
  • The necessity of denser housing and good schools for everyone
  • The importance of including city mayors in national policymaking

Columbus won a “Smart City” grant. It is leading to many discussions about technology and driverless cars. There is much less talk about the rationale for receiving the grant in the first place.

It was to increase access to health care for our most vulnerable residents, for our babies who are dying at the rate of a developing country, and to ensure that our workers can get to work. We ought to address segregation too.

We need to earn the label, “Smart City,” and we can learn a lot from Richard Florida.

 

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