According to a news story in the Washington Post this week, President elect Barack Obama announced plans to establish an Office of Urban Policy once he takes office in January. A director of Urban Policy, his aides stated, will be in place to “coordinate all federal urban programs.”
“Despite the many national problems confronting the new administration, Obama remains committed to earlier pledges to establish an Office of Urban Policy,” an Obama transition aide told the Washington Post.
During the 1990s, there was a concerted national effort to provide resources for urban redevelopment in cities across the country. In particular, such federal assistance gave a boost to struggling Rust Belt cities such as Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Since that time, there have been many reports suggesting a waning national focus on urban redevelopment. More recently, problems such as subprime lending, the foreclosure crisis, the loss of manufacturing jobs and the closing of regional banks have hurt some urban neighborhoods. These ongoing challenges have also threatened important redevelopment efforts.
Given Obama’s pledge to focus on urban redevelopment as a part of his administrative priorities, will this change once he gets elected?
No comments:
Post a Comment