What makes cities successful? It's a question we ask every week here on Smart City. And this week we have two authorities from the University of Chicago to address that topic - one with a very local view and the other with a global outlook.
Sean Safford has studied the decline of Rust Belt cities and found that particular kinds of social networks were key to a city's ability to renew.
Saskia Sassen has studied global cities and concluded that corporate headquarters are less important to a city than are globe-trotting consultants.
Smart City is a syndicated, weekly hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life: the people, places, ideas and trends that affect us all. Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others on the pulse of city life for a penetrating discussion on urban issues.
In Memphis, Smart City is broadcast on WKNO FM, 91.1, at 9 a.m. Sundays. It is also webcast and podcast at the Smart City website, which also has a listing of broadcast times in other cities and the sign up for a weekly newsletter.
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3 comments:
This show was broadcast last year and Sean Safford's interview is extremely interesting as he talks about a city's social structure and attitude in getting things done.
He basically stated that cities in which the same people are on all the boards tend to become insular in their thinking - read: Memphis
We all know that Memphians tend to be pessimistic, but I also maintain that we just don't trust one another very much either which perpetuates this pessimism.
Let me add that Saskia Sassen is one of the most highly respected Urban Sociologists in the world. Whe always has interesting insights into the modern urban realities. Probably a program well worth catching. George
Liquidity makes cities successful. Read this great recent article "A Word About the Role of Cities" by Craig Thomas of Torto Wheaton Research (A CB Richard Ellis Company). It is right on and Memphis needs to focus on being a smart city in this way.
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