Politics

Byron Brown on cities in politics

by David Alpert   •   January 4, 2008 2:22 pm

Echoing many of the same points I just made in this AlterNet interview with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who argues that the early primaries in non-urban states diminishes the discussion of urban issues:

The largest 100 urban areas in this country represent only 12% of the land area of the country, but they are 65% of the population, 75% of our gross domestic product and provide 68% of the employment.

And, of course, "urban issues" doesn't just mean poverty and minorities:

If you look at the riots that took place in the '60s, and the flight from our cities, since that time urban issues have definitely become synonymous with poverty, with minorities, whether it is African-Americans or Hispanics, and I think that has negatively shaped how urban issues are discussed, debated and looked at in the country.

There are now suburban communities that are experiencing some of the traditional urban problems of crime and poverty, and because of that ... those issues are also important in the suburban communities.

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington. He has had a lifelong interest in great cities and great communities. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.