Cities & Communities

In Chicago, like most other big cities in America, manufacturing was once the core of the urban economy — until recent decades, when most of it moved out to suburban areas and beyond. But while much smaller today, manufacturing still makes a vital contribution that cities should work hard to maintain.

All over the country, public transit systems are losing ridership. As Chicago’s story makes clear, the real source of the problem is the sprawling and balkanized shape of America’s metropolises.

The strongholds of municipal liberalism are gone; the coalition of immigrants, unionists, poor people, and neighborhoods has been replaced by alliances between tough-on-crime Republican mayors and organized business. But the seeds of a revival are there.

As federal funding dwindles, we need new economic arrangements and political coalitions to unite city and suburb.

In Washington these days, HUD is about as popular as mosquitoes. But there’s a way to make housing more affordable without the old bureaucracy.