Seminar in Urban Problems: Student Thoughts on Solutions

Post #3: Inman 1-62/Wilson Article

When digging into this reading all I could think about is that no matter what, life is truly a balancing act. The authors discuss how policy makers need to balance racial issues and economic development. Well, how should we balance consumer cities versus skilled cities? What is the best way to balance initiatives that benefit rich people or poor people? In my life this balancing act is becoming even more apparent through education issues such as: qualitative vs. quantitative data, school culture vs. school performance, student opinions vs. parent opinions and many others. As I spend more time in the public sector I have learned to not only be aware of this necessary balancing act, but I have been spending more time understanding how others come to create, adjust and validate certain formulas for such balance. In short, I’m still learning.

“The best current evidence suggests that living in such a poor neighborhood does not by itself greatly damage an individual’s life prospects. Being poor and having access to poor public services do significantly impact one’s economic future, but living next to other poor neighbors does not. It is family and city resources that matter most”

I’m going to start off with one of the first quotes that struck me in this reading, because I believe it is one of the most important topics that anyone in public administration can discuss. A popular phrase in the education reform movement is “zip code does not determine destiny.” You can hear some more about what this means for education in the video below. I love that this can apply to all other aspects of government. The fact that someone lives in a poor neighborhood should not affect their economic outcome in life. Our cities, communities and leaders should have appropriate services in places to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities.

This is where we get into the balance. I don’t think a city should focus solely on helping the poor at expense of the rich. I also don’t believe that a city (or any human being) should turn a blind eye to people in need. The Wilson article talks about how we have two types of discrimination: denying a certain group their rights and privileges and the milder version of not helping groups overcome their disadvantages. Unfortunately I this milder view of discrimination is widely practiced throughout our country. I have met plenty of people who don’t consider themselves racists, but they wouldn’t dare lend a hand to someone of color. I’m glad that Wilson has defined this act of racism for us, although it is disappointing to see so prevalently in our society. I believe that this idea of racism has to be dealt with before our country can move forward. My grandmother’s generation accepted the extreme form of racism, my generation accepts the milder form of racism, so maybe this means that my grandchildren will live in a country where everyone is truly equal.

Back to the balancing act…

The reading shows us that a successful city has many qualities:

• Must be self aware
• Attracts skilled workers
• Retains talent
• Responsive to market demand
• Policy based on people not places

My proposal for this great balance lies of course, in education. However, I don’t believe the answer is necessarily in a great public school system or quality school choices, but I think the way to achieve balance in the necessary city areas is to educate the public about what it takes to make their cities successful. Maybe the rich folks truly don’t understand how helping the poor could help them? Maybe the poor don’t understand how their dependence on welfare could be harmful to their children? What if an entire city knew how their city actually worked?

Yes, I am being too optimistic, but I believe it is a start in the right direction. In general, I hope to see our public more educated on the matters that affect them. Town hall meetings. Community discussions. Public education videos. Online discussion boards. The possibilities are endless on how to communicate with your community, but the trick is to find what works best in each one. Many people are dissatisfied with public services or policies due to their misunderstanding of them. Yes, sometimes people are truly unhappy with our leaders’ decisions; however, I feel it is worth a shot to take more time to clearly explain how these programs will benefit them. Actions of a community can be drastically changed with knowledge.

Side note: I found the Wilson article so interesting! It reminded me a lot of one of my most recent reads featured below. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the culture of poverty.

http://www.amazon.com/Framework-Understanding-Poverty-4th-Edition/dp/1929229488