Resilient Communities and Urban Renewal

I don't quite have the proper practical or theoretical background to put this article about urban decline in perspective, but aside from being a great piece of journalism, it seems to hint at John Robb's Resilient Communities (a concept that doubles as the title of his upcoming book).

A second conclusion is that many of the current political structures and leaders are either unable or unwilling to deal with these new realities. When you find the exceptions, like a reluctantly persuaded but then fully committed Mayor Ed Koch or a housing commissioner like Felice Michetti, fine. But waiting for most to act or blaming them when they don’t are often not constructive responses. This puts the burden of thinking and acting back on a new type of civic leader: a volunteer with a real following in a local community, but also with a range of analysis and understanding that crosses town or county or city boundaries. The renewal of most of the failed cities of the failed state of Ohio—Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown, Sandusky, Lorain, and many others—depends on men and women who live in and care about those cities. But they will need to relate to leaders well beyond their own towns. And they will need to become a kind of ad hoc economic strategy team for their area, for their state, and for the struggling midwestern region described in Richard Longworth’s fine book, Caught in the Middle.

Also significant (at least for my purposes) is the article's focus on Chicago's poor governance and the struggle of Chicagoland communities. The comparison with New York's community-based resurgence is stark and unflattering.