Monday, July 20, 2009

The Urbanophile: Race and the City

This is a very good piece, and I would recommend you give it a good read. Here's an excerpt of something I would like to focus on:
Yet African Americans tend not to feature prominently in urbanist discussions of our cities and their future, save perhaps in hyper-segregated Detroit. I can understand that people are hesitant to forthrightly discuss race because it is a subject matter that is sensitive. But perhaps there is nothing more important to talk about.
...
In nearly all of our cities we see a black community that has not shared in civic success or which has disproportionately been hit by civic failure. This is not only a disgrace, it will block those cities from finding urban success properly so-called. No city that leaves an entire segment of its community behind can truly claim success, no matter how many gleaming towers or swanky restaurants it might have.
Question: Do you think there is any truth to what was said here? Do you feel that blacks in Chicago haven't been featured prominently in the development of our city? What role should blacks play for development in black communities?

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