A Metropolitan Nation

I spent Monday and Tuesday in Pittsburgh speaking at the International Urban Parks Conference. One of the keynote speakers was Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute and chief author of the Blue Print for American Prosperity.

I'll cut to the chase: the Blueprint states that Metropolitan Areas constitute the engines of American prosperity and the building blocks of the 21st Century economy. Further, the report argues that "the ability of our nation to grow and prosper and meet the social and environmental challenges of our time depends heavily on the health and vitality of our metropolitan areas." True prosperity, the report argues, is based on sustainable growth in cities that addresses climate change and helps the nation achieve energy independence.

Could I have imagined even a couple of years ago that Brookings would present at an urban parks conference? Frankly no. But there were 600 people at the conference (www.urbanparks08.org) and they included inspirational local leaders such as Luis Acosta of El Puente in Brooklyn, state environmental directors talking about urban ecology and the director of CEOs for Cities who argued that sustainable cities are crucial to global competitiveness because talented workforces demand green and sustainable metro areas. The choir is growing. The time is now.

By the way-visit Pittsburgh. I ran along the two of the three rivers and I cannot tell you what a beautiful city it has become. Most of the poorest residents lived up high, because the smoke from the smelters and the mills settled on the hilltops. As I toured August Wilson's neighborhood (The Hill District) and met local leaders of great vision and power, I saw that they too struggled with vacant lots and disinvestment--but now their hilltop neighborhood is the highlands of one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities in America-poetic justice and hope for the future.