Mayors On The Future Of America

We talk with mayors from across the country on going local to find the future. Plus: Jack Beatty on Boston's own Mayor Menino.

The world’s problems look so big lately.  So sprawling.  But we live day-to-day at home.  In communities.  Locally.  Local food is big.  Local beer, brews.  What about local solutions to big problems?  We’re sitting down today with a panel of mayors from across the country, to get their sense of where communities can rally locally to make life better.  To look at what’s within the local grasp, and what’s beyond it.  This hour On Point:  American mayors, taking on the challenges of their own backyards and the world.  Plus Jack Beatty on one mayor’s story in “Mayor for a New America.”
-- Tom Ashbrook

Marilyn Strickland, Democratic Mayor of Tacoma, Washington. (@CityOfTacoma)
Mick Cornett, Republican Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (@MickCornett)
Angel Taveras, Democratic Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. (@Angel_Taveras)

Fast Company: This City Lost 1 Million Pounds--Now It’s Redesigning Itself To Keep Them Off — "Like many cities in the U.S., Oklahoma City was built to cater to a car culture. For decades, private developers were not even required to plan for sidewalks as the city grew. In 2008, Prevention magazine ranked it 'the worst walking city' in the U.S. 'I’d realized we’d built an incredible quality of life here--if you happened to be in a car,' says Mayor Cornett. 'We have virtually no traffic in Oklahoma City. You could literally get a speeding ticket during rush hour.'"

Newsweek: Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S. -- "While Washington seems paralyzed by partisan bickering, America’s mayors are busy putting ideas into action. City hall is increasingly a place for bold experimentation. Unlike Congress, there’s no fiddling over the fiscal cliff or divisions into angry, ideological, debating societies. As communities climb out of the great recession, pragmatism is forcing innovation. Success requires strong leadership and a vision of politics as the art of what works."

Metropolis: Meet the Mayors -- "Mayor Angel Taveras has put quality of place at the center of three projects to reshape the city of Providence. The renovated Kennedy Plaza will relocate a hub-and-spoke transportation system closer to the rail network, bring the street up to grade, remove ironwork blocking connections to Burnside Park, and turn the plaza into a central square with public programming, dining, picnic concerts, and movies."

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. Co-author, with former Boston Mayor Tom Menino, of the new book, "Mayor for a New America." (@JackBeattyNPR)

Boston Business Journal: Menino opens up about how he wielded power to reshape the city of Boston -- "Menino says a big focus of his administration was reshaping the South Boston waterfront, recognizing its potential to be Boston’s first government-made neighborhood since the Back Bay was filled in after the Civil War. That’s why Menino says he opposed Bob Kraft’s stadium plan for the area in the 1990s, and why he harangued an unnamed mogul who ran parking lots there (presumably Frank McCourt) for years to develop the land."