An Urban President from Chicago

Yesterday I listened to the Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, say something about President-elect, Barack Obama, that I think is reason to cheer.

His comment essentially said we now have a President who understands urban issues.  That’s almost an understatement given that Mr. Obama is from one granddaddy of a city – Chicago.

Now at first I thought to myself that this might prove alienating to citizens of rural communities and those that still do not consider themselves urban residents (e.g. people who live in the suburbs (my neighbors) who for some reason think where they live is not “urban”).

Then I thought again and these points came to mind.

• What happens in urban communities has tremendous impact on the whole country because of the percentage of the population that are in urban centers and because of the great combustion of ideas and activity that happens when people of varying talents, energies and backgrounds live and work together as they do in urban centers.  To give a different spin on a popular current phrase…what happens in the city doesn’t necessarily stay in the city and that includes the good things that help to drive an economy. What benefits a city on the east coast could turn into jobs for a small southern town….
• The definition of urban is likely different for many people. Typically an urban area is defined as any  town/city with a population of 50,000 or more and any area outside an urban city with a population of 2,500 or more.  Okay, so that definition alone takes in most of the country.

With those few points in mind, it seems to me a president from an urban community comes is (perhaps) ideally suite to address some of the challenges of our time – from unemployment to pollution and everywhere else in between.

Even international media have praised President-elect Obama’s home town for its forward thinking, green, new urbanist ways.

Here’s what the Toronto Star said in August, 2008:

“This city has worn many monikers throughout the years – Chi Town, The Windy City, Second City.

But the one it has worked hardest to earn might be the Emerald City.  Turns out that the lakeside city built – at least anecdotally – on mob connections and industry has been busily greening up its act.

While the city lagged behind other progressive cities in such eco-basics as household recycling (it only created an effective program in 2007), for the eco-minded tourist, Chicago is veritably verdant.

This green revolution is coming from top down, led by the city’s well-loved Mayor Richard Daley, whose love of trees (he was, after all, born on Arbor Day, 1942) spawned a plan to revitalize the city economically by regenerating it environmentally.  This greening of the city has clearly worked, rooted in a $9-billion-a-year tourism industry and branching into many other eco-initiatives.”

I hope Chicogoans are celebrating not only the fact that one of their own will be the next President, but also the fact that this current place on the national stage will give them an opportunity to promote the great steps they have taken to adopt new urbanism.  Sure it’s cool and current, but a better reason for making more people aware of Chicago’s “greening” success is the impact it can have on helping more people/communities to make the “changes” necessary for our collective environmental and economic health.