THE METROPOLITAN REVOLUTION How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy BRUCE KATZ and JENNIFER BRADLEY
A revolution is stirring in America. Across the nation cities and metropolitan areas, and the networks of pragmatic leaders who govern them, are taking on the big issues that Washington won t, or can t, solve. They are reshaping our economy and fixing our broken political system. The Metropolitan Revolution is a national movement, and the book describes how it is taking root in New York City, where efforts are under way to diversify the city s vast economy; in Portland, Oregon, which is selling the sustainability solutions it has perfected to other cities around the world; in Northeast Ohio, where groups are using industrial-age skills to invent new twenty-first-century materials, tools, and processes; in Houston, where a modern settlement house helps immigrants climb the employment ladder; in Miami, where innovators are forging strong ties with Brazil and other nations; in Denver and Los Angeles, where leaders are breaking political barriers and building world-class metropolises; and in Boston and Detroit, where innovation districts are hatching ideas to power these economies for the next century. Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley highlight these success stories and the people behind them in order to share lessons and catalyze action. This revolution is happening, and every community in the country can benefit.
BRUCE J. KATZ is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. JENNIFER BRADLEY is a fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. She has written for The New Republic, the Atlantic Monthly, Democracy, and The American Prospect. Jacket design and cover illustration by Chika Azuma
THE METROPOLITAN REVOLUTION
THE METROPOLITAN REVOLUTION How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy BRUCE KATZ AND JENNIFER BRADLEY BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS Washington, D.C.
about brookings The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and foreign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring the highest quality independent research and analysis to bear on current and emerging policy problems. Interpretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors. Copyright 2013 the brookings institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036 www.brookings.edu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Katz, Bruce. The metropolitan revolution : how cities and metros are fixing our broken politics and fragile economy / Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8157-2151-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Metropolitan areas United States. 2. City and town life United States. 3. Municipal government United States. I. Bradley, Jennifer. II. Title. HT334.U5K38 2013 307.76'40973--dc23 2013016820 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed on acid-free paper Typeset in Sabon and Univers Composition by Cynthia Stock Silver Spring, Maryland Printed by R. R. Donnelley Harrisonburg, Virginia
CONTENTS Foreword by Judith Rodin Acknowledgments vii xi 1 A Revolution Unleashed 1 PART I. The Living Laboratory: The Metropolitan Revolution Today 2 New York City: Innovation and the Next Economy 17 3 Denver: The Four Votes 41 4 Northeast Ohio: The Post-Hero Economy 64 5 Houston: El Civics 88 PART II. The Future of the Metropolitan Revolution: Ushering In the Metro Age 6 The Rise of Innovation Districts 113 7 Toward a Global Network of Trading Cities 144 8 Metros as the New Sovereign 171 9 A Revolution Realized 192 Notes 209 Selected Bibliography 245 Index 251 v
To the memory of my father, Alan Katz To Leon and Matthew Wieseltier
FOREWORD How does one measure a city? By the buildings that fill its skyline? By the efficiency of its rapid transit? Or, perhaps, by what Jane Jacobs called the sidewalk ballet of a busy street? Certainly these are the memorable hallmarks of any modern city or metropolitan area. But a city s true measure goes beyond human-made structures and lies deeper than daily routine. Rather, cities and metro areas are defined by the quality of the ideas they generate, the innovations they spur, and the opportunities they create for people living within and outside the city limits. These are the elements that will be increasingly important as more people flock to cities than ever before. We have already passed the tipping point: a majority of people on the planet now live in metropolitan areas. In the developing world, 1 million people move to cities and metros every five days. At this pace, by 2050 three-quarters of the global population will call urban areas home. Our language has not yet caught up with the realities. Often when we refer to cities we are actually referring to the broader economic, environmental, and infrastructure networks of the entire metropolitan region of which a city is a part. In this sense, it is difficult to separate the city from its larger metro region or to separate the metro from the city. In today s world, the two are inextricably linked. vii