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White House Launches Office of Urban Affairs

29 July 2009 One Comment

The Root Magazine is reporting that the White House has made good on its promise to establish an Office of Urban Affairs.

The office is designed to facilitate and coordinate programs that improve the lives of city dwellers. Adolfo Carrion, former Bronx borough president, will lead the office.

On the campaign trail President Obama promised to “stop seeing cities as the problem and start seeing them as a solution.”

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The president has a lot on his plate right now, but this seems like a step in the right direction. We need a new vision for cities. We need policies that support the health of urban centers. We need that more than anywhere here in the Rust Belt.

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  • Special K

    It is good to see the President coming through on his promise.

    I think cities often get overlooked during presidential campaigns because so many early primary states are not places with large urban populations (i.e., Iowa, New Hampshire). Thus, candidates may come up with a position on farm subsidies, or rural land use, but not feel the need to address urban issues.

    Who was the last President to really tackle – or at least try to tackle – urban problems? LBJ?