Cities Responding to a Global Crisis
Cities are playing an essential role in responding to COVID-19. In the absence of a nationally coordinated response in the United States, local governments have to devise their own strategies. This is putting mayors and city council members on the front line, battling the growing challenges.
In my work with urban and community development in the United States, I advocated solving national challenges at the local level. I have been inspired by the works of several authors that advance this thesis, for example:
Benjamin R. Barber, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities, 2013
Vishaan Chakrabarti, A Country of Cities – a manifesto for an Urban America, 2013
Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley, The Metropolitan Revolution – How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy, 2013
Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowark, The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, 2018
Likewise, I have followed the practices of many strong mayors in the United States (see, for example, the former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel’s recent book, The Nation City: Why Mayors Are Now Running the World, 2020).
Each of these scholars and civic leaders promote tackling societal challenges locally, more so than nationally.
As many cities confront the coronavirus, the limits of a locally-led approach in the vacuum of a national response are becoming apparent. On March 16, the New York Times reported that President Trump instructed governors to secure their own supplies, leaving the states to compete against one another, subsequently driving up prices for essential medical supplies and equipment. It is hard to imagine that this city and state-driven prepping is most efficient in getting critical supplies where they are most needed. Stockpiling medical supplies may be prudent to prepare locally, though, like hoarding toilet paper, it will disrupt supply channels and result in an empty shelf for others in need. The consequences of running out of toilet paper are, of course, undesirable; the consequences of running out of essential medical supplies has potentially fatal consequences.
More than half the world’s population lives in an urban area; accordingly, cities are the key battlegrounds to confront the spread of coronavirus. However, there are limits of local leadership to tackle the problems associated with the outbreak of a global pandemic. The scope of the public health challenges and collateral impact on the economy will benefit from national leadership and management of resources. Michael Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and former presidential candidate, commented on Barber’s book, writing, “Mayors around the world tend to be pragmatists and problem-solvers, not partisans. They get things done, often after national governments fall short.” This is a critical time for mayors to be pragmatic problem-solvers, but our cities cannot afford to have our national leadership fall short.
Sources:
Jonathan Martin. “Trump to Governors on Ventilators: ‘Try Getting It Yourselves’”. The New York Times, March 16, 2020.
