President Obama devoted part of Monday's schedule to sketching out an urban policy to help cities and metropolitan regions become more effective drivers of economic growth. It's the first time Obama has waded into this area publicly since February, when he appointed former Bronx, N.Y. borough president Adolfo Carrion to the new post of White House Director of Urban Affairs and gave him responsibility for coordinating transportation and housing initiatives and helping to funnel federal aid to economically hard-hit municipalities.
Adolfo Carrion
Obama was scheduled to deliver remarks to an urban and metropolitan policy roundtable late this afternoon at the White House. His vision, aides say, departs from the long-held practice of using urban policy as a tool to fight crime and poverty and embraces the argument of mayors and other local officials that metropolitan areas are primary economic drivers in the country and should treated as assets instead of problems.
Obama and other administration officials are expected to prod cities and their suburban counterparts to collaborate for federal funds and private projects, instead of competing against each other.
Words are one thing, but officials are quietly wondering how long it will take for metropolitan areas to capture a representative share of the billions of dollars of economic relief flowing out of Washington.
Several recent media analyses of federal spending showed the largest metropolitan areas are getting less than half of the $26.6 billion of transportation funds available from the economic stimulus package (PL 111-5) that Congress enacted in February.
Carrion, appearing with several Cabinet officials prior to Obama's remarks, said it's been "hard to find a precedent" on apportioning aid in the midst of a deep economic crisis, but said the administration is trying to develop a long-term plan to evaluate the needs of cities. He's helped convene an interagency working group to develop a national urban agenda and will join officials including Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transporation Secretary Ray LaHood in touring metro areas.
Expect this initiative to pick up steam heading in to the 2010 election cycle. The White House is keenly aware of changing demographics, and that middle-class voters are returning to inner cities in significant numbers, instead of fleeing to more affluent suburbs. Obama surely brings some personal experience to the equation, having served as a community organizer in Chicago after attending college in Los Angeles and New York City. "It's great to have an urban president," Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell remarked prior to the rountable.
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