Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Barack Obama

Urbama Admin? Prez-Elect ‘The Real Deal’ Says Metro Policy Guru

11:38 AM EST on November 13, 2008

If Barack Obama's soft spot for Detroit has you doubting his urban policy bona fides, Bruce Katz offers a few words of reassurance. The Stamford Advocate reports from Katz's recent appearance before a Connecticut smart-growth group:

Katz is vice president and founding director of the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, an organization whose ideas are part of Obama's urban agenda.

"This is the real deal," Katz said of Obama, hailing his plans for cities and metropolitan areas at Thursday night's meeting of the 1,000 Friends of Connecticut in Norwalk.

Katz praised Obama's June speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, while coyly turning aside speculation that he will head the new Urban Policy Office in the White House.

Speaking of which, we're getting some intel on how that part of the executive will function. David Goldberg of Transportation for America informs us that "the office is conceived as something of a supercabinet position that potentially could coordinate policy among the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, environment, public health and other arenas."

The folks behind WalkScore have launched a new web site to collect ideas for the Urban Policy Office. Voting up your favorite ideas is pretty addictive.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines at a Discount

We talk a lot about how parking minimums drive up housing costs, but so do overly wide roads. Why not take away a lane or two and let people build on the land?

October 4, 2023

Study: Remote Work Isn’t Always A Cure for America’s Addiction to Driving

A lot of Americans traded long commutes for short errands during the pandemic — but whether that swap resulted in more or less driving is a consequence of policy choices.

October 4, 2023

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Trending Down

An estimated 19,515 people died in car crashes during the first half of 2023, which is down 3.3 percent but still 19,515 too many.

October 3, 2023

What Do ‘Livable’ Streets Look Like in an Era of Driverless Cars?

Does a world of autonomous cars really have to make our streets less human?

October 3, 2023
See all posts