Who is this city for? It’s a question that gets asked a lot in planning circles these days. It gets at issues of diversity, accessibility and inclusion. Does the city work for everyone, or only for some subsets of people? Sesame Street asked the question more simply. One of the classic show’s most memorable songs got to the heart of a key issue: “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” In the song, the idea is to introduce kids to people they are likely to meet each day, like postal workers, teachers, newspaper vendors (sadly dated material) and more. But the segment gets at an important fact about where we live: We’re not alone. The fundamental makeup of the community impacts how we interact with it. Is the population generally older or younger? Is it diverse in terms of race and ethnicity? Is it diverse in terms of income and education? Overall, there is increasing diversity throughout the U.S., however, it’s also increasingly likely that you’ll live next to someone like yourself. According to Charles Murray’s recent book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, cities and their suburbs are becoming increasingly isolated along economic, educational and cultural lines. Bill Bishop’s The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded Americans Is Tearing Us Apart argues that we’re also segregated by political preference. More and more of us live in counties and towns that are less and less politically competitive. The eventual outcomes of most elections are known long before the ballots are cast. As you can probably guess, he believes this to be a bad thing. Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution tells Livability.com that the roles of cities and their leaders are changing. The problems they are facing are increasingly complicated. Their jobs are not as simple as putting more cops on the street to reduce crime in between attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies and riding in parades. “Now, you’re really seeing mayors and their business/civic/university allies focusing on the fundamentals of the trade economy: manufacturing, innovation, skills, exports,” he says. These aren’t just big-city issues. listless,lithe,lively,local,logical,long-winded,lovable,love-lorn,lovely,maternal,mature,mean,meddlesome,mercurial,methodical,meticulous,mild,miserable,modest,moronic,morose,motivated,,musical,naive,nasty,natural,naughtynegative,,nervous,noisy,,normal,nosy,numb,obliging,obnoxious,old-fashioned,one-sided,orderly,ostentatious,outgoing,outspoken,passionate,passive,paternal,paternalistic,patient,peaceful,peevish,pensive,persevering,persnickety,petulant,picky,plain,plain-speaking,playful,pleasant,plucky,polite,popular,positive,powerful,practical,prejudiced,,pretty,proficient,proud,,provocative,,prudent,punctual,,quarrelsome,querulous,quick,quick-tempered,quiet,realistic,reassuring,reclusive,reliable,reluctant,resentful,,reserved,resigned,resourceful,respected,respectful,responsible,restless,revered,ridiculous,sad,sassy,saucy,sedate,self-assured,selfish,sensible,sensitive,sentimental,serene,serious,sharp,short-tempered,shrewd,shy,silly,sincere,sleepy,slight,sloppy,slothful,slovenly,slow,smart,snazzy,sneering,snobby

• published: 01 Sep 2015
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