Former Houston Mayor Katherine Whitmire spoke last night about the need for cities, suburbs and "edge-cities" to work together to meet the challenges that face 20th century urban America.
About 45 people attended the speech, titled "The City: Preparing for the Next Millennium," in Room 2 of the Rockefeller Center.
"As we approach this new millennium, open a new chapter in history, it may be time to take a look at what's happening in our large cities," Whitmire said.
She said cities today are facing serious problems, including a crumbling infrastructure, crime and homelessness.
"The deterioration that has occurred among major cities, the poverty and homelessness, the gang and drug related problems, raise questions about the value of continuing to invest in that kind of infrastructure," Whitmire said.
She said the "flight to the suburbs" is a major factor in cities' deterioration.
With further cutbacks in the federal programs that fund cities, a central question is how to develop investment for their recovery, she said.
Local and regional organization and leadership are key, she said.
"Edge cities," those cities located in areas on the outskirts of larger cities, are crucial to this development, she said.
"The suburbs, the edge cities, and the central cities are all a part of the solution," Whitmire continued. "And they're a pretty powerful political force."
Whitmire described a Minneapolis program in which property taxes from specific zones are reinvested in other zones, especially those that need the funds. This program exemplifies neighborhood improvement and investment, she said.
"If the city will invest in disadvantaged neighborhoods, we see private sector and nonprofit organizations doing the same," Whitmire said. "That, in my view, is how we begin to bridge the gap created when people fled to edge cities."
Allocating funds to public education without sacrificing those needed to bolster prisons and police forces is an issue Whitmire raised to demonstrate the "inefficiency created by the different levels of government."
Whitmire said by "tackling the duplication of efforts" between city and county levels of government with better prison rehabilitation, funds would be freed for the school system.
Using a higher proportion of revenue for prisons and police forces means "facing the problem of people not being well-educated enough to be self-sufficient and have good work ethic," which leads to a higher crime rate, Whitmire explained.
Public school "systems stay the same as the world moves along," Whitmire said. "So many things need to be revitalized to make them accommodate today's families."
A school system which is held accountable for improvements in education across metropolitan lines would help to bridge the gap between central and suburban areas, Whitmire suggested.
She said if public schools are made to compete with other public and private schools in a system where students are the customers," they will be "better able to prepare today's kids for tomorrow's world."
"If we put together coalitions of people who use and provide government services are members of public and private sectors," Whitmire said, "cities can become not only centers for commerce and culture but also good places to live."
Elaborating on her suggestions for the improvement of public education and increased efficiency of city government, Whitmire demonstrated the balance between "tackling problems created in the past while preparing for the future."
An introduction, given by Sociology Chair Raymond Hall, who is teaching a course this term called "The North American City," cited many of Whitmire's accomplishments during her 10-year tenure as Houston's mayor..
Whitmire "astounded the good ol' boys," as the first female elected to city office in Houston, Hall said. He also pointed to her time as a member of the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange and as chief executive of the Junior Achievement Program as examples of her accomplishments.
Hall also cited several of Whitmire's recognitions which include being awards Woman of the Year by the Texas Political Caucus, being named a Distinguished Professional Woman by the Committee of the Status of Women at the University of Texas Health Science Center and receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Women's Chamber of Commerce.
Whitmire is a guest lecturer for public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
