Library
The Nation City: Why Mayors Are Now Running the World
We will discuss a book about how power and progress have moved in recent decades from federal and state governments to cities. The chief beneficiaries of this “paradigm shift,” the book argues, are mayors who are connected to one another, open to new ideas and skilled at collaboration. Rahm Emanuel was the two-term mayor of…
A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society’s Toughest Problems
“A Kind of Genius” is a book about how one reformer in the 1960s and 1970s in New York was able to create change with little or no power and few resources. He did it with persuasion, people skills, political awareness and processes that not only found good solutions but built support along the way….
The Big Dig
“The Big Dig” is a documentary podcast about one of the most ambitious—and vexed—public works projects in American history, the building of two tunnels and a bridge in Boston. This massive project transformed downtown Boston and solved many access problems, but at a huge cost in money and reputation. The documentary has suggestions about improving…
Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy
“Ghosting the News” is a book about the decline of newspapers, the loss of their coverage of local government and politics, and why this lost coverage threatens democracy. The book offers some ideas about what might replace newspaper reporting. Sullivan is the media columnist for the Washington Post. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta:
The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism
“The New Localism” is a book about how local governments could solve difficult problems if they worked more collaboratively with others and used more creative approaches to financing improvements. Cities have greater resources than they realize, the authors say. Collaboration and new thinking about finance can unlock these resources. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta:
Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It
“Arbitrary Lines” is about the damage done to cities and neighborhoods by zoning. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta:
Won’t Lose This Dream: How an Upstart Urban University Rewrote the Rules of a Broken System
“Won’t Lose This Dream” is a book about how a major public institution transformed itself. The institution: Georgia State University. We focused on what this book tells us about how institutional reform takes place. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta: