The "New Localism" + Local First Arizona > Food For Thought

A new book: What is the so-called "New Localism"?

The New Localism

How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism

By Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak 09 Jan  2018

Source > https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-new-localism/ 

New localism is not a replacement for the vital roles federal governments play; it is the ideal complement to an effective federal government, and, currently, an urgently needed remedy for national dysfunction.

Well, what about local dysfunction - to consider that first?

No way it's populism here in Mesa when the public appears not to care what's next here in a fast-growing city. Most of the population approaching 500,000 are simply not engaged and not involved - or informed - about what the generations-old political machine plan, free from public oversight. In an age of open, transparent and accountable governance, local elected city government and salaried city officials inside City Hall public admit they have failed miserably while at the same time paying "lip-service" to achieving those goals.   

A remedy for that remains elusive . . .  How might that work here in Mesa, Arizona where Local First Arizona has recently partnered in some new initiatives ??????????????????????

QUESTION: after years of struggling with that "Vision Thing" does Mesa yet have that sense of place to even start on the way to "a new localism" ???

First thing first, folks!

In a Kirkus Review it's noted that the authors observe that power of various kinds is “drifting downward from the nation-state to cities and metropolitan communities [and] horizontally from government networks of public, private and civic actors.”

Actors? - yes we're all players and we all many roles. 

To quote from the review: "This comes as a result, at least in some measure, of cities actively campaigning to recruit industries that require high skill levels and education in order to achieve productivity. Kansas City is a case in point: its civic leaders within and without government are in agreement that they want five things to happen, including building “a workforce for tomorrow” and “making the city the most entrepreneurial in America.”

Many things have to happen to bring about such developments - first is a location with "a Sense of Place", a clear common-ground shared vision of what that is from the local population who are actively in process . . .
Is that What Works Mesa?
cluding forging political alliances and investing in urban infrastructure. Beyond that, the authors show that leading urban areas in the “new localism” movement are those that have invested in “innovation districts,” or clusters of business development mixed with academia and, often, government. . .

Financial innovation is necessary to fund such development, but cities are often wealthier than they think; as the authors note, cities are very good at reckoning how much they owe but not how much they own. To this end, they counsel putting “public asset corporations” to work in developing long-term strategies and capturing public wealth that can be reinvested in making cities better places to live—as increasing numbers of people around the nation and world have concluded they are.

Of great interest to urban activists and workers at the interface of the public and private sectors, with much food for thought for investors as well."

 

A Conversation and Signing with the Authors: Bruce Katz & Jeremy Nowak 

January 16, 2018 at The HIVE

Sponsor: Spring Point Partners

For Registration go here > https://www.eventbrite.com-tickets

Date and Time:

Tue, January 16, 2018

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM EST

30 South 15th St. 4th floor of the Graham Building

Philadelphia, PA 19102

 

Description

The New Localism provides a roadmap for change that starts in the communities where most people live and work.
In their new book, The New Localism, urban experts Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak reveal where the real power to create change lies and how it can be used to address our most serious social, economic, and environmental challenges.
Power is shifting in the world: downward from national governments and states to cities and metropolitan communities; horizontally from the public sector to networks of public, private and civic actors; and globally along circuits of capital, trade, and innovation.
This new locus of power—this new localism—is emerging by necessity to solve the grand challenges characteristic of modern societies: economic competitiveness, social inclusion and opportunity; a renewed public life; the challenge of diversity; and the imperative of environmental sustainability. Where rising populism on the right and the left exploits the grievances of those left behind in the global economy, new localism has developed as a mechanism to address them head on.
New localism is not a replacement for the vital roles federal governments play; it is the ideal complement to an effective federal government, and, currently, an urgently needed remedy for national dysfunction.

In The New Localism, Katz and Nowak tell the stories of the cities that are on the vanguard of problem solving. Pittsburgh is catalyzing inclusive growth by inventing and deploying new industries and technologies. Indianapolis is governing its city and metropolis through a network of public, private and civic leaders. Copenhagen is using publicly owned assets like their waterfront to spur large scale redevelopment and finance infrastructure from land sales.
Out of these stories emerge new norms of growth, governance, and finance and a path toward a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive society. Katz and Nowak imagine a world in which urban institutions finance the future through smart investments in innovation, infrastructure and children and urban intermediaries take solutions created in one city and adapt and tailor them to other cities with speed and precision.
As Katz and Nowak show us in The New Localism,
“Power now belongs to the problem solvers.”