The current economic crisis may actually offer a propitious chance to attain more "sustainable, livable and socially just cities," according to Nicolai Ouroussoff's article "Reinventing America's Cities: The Time Is Now" in Sunday's New York Times. Calling for a bold urban vision based on changes that "may seem extravagant, but they are not impossible," the author says cities have been neglected for decades despite being vastly more efficient than suburbs.
Sounding a clarion call to focus on the needs of our nation's cities, the article highlights conditions in New Orleans, Los Angeles, the Bronx and Buffalo -- places where the author says actions can be taken now that can form a basis for reimagining our failing urban areas.
The author also supports the idea for a National Infrastructure Bank as proposed in Felix Rohatyn's new book, Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now.
Read the full story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/arts/design/29ouro.html?scp=2&sq=Nicolai%20Ouroussoff&st=cse
