Last Wednesday, I went to the third annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum at UIC. I had a great time and meet a lot of interesting people, including Shylo from Gapers Block.
I learned a couple of valuable things at the forum:
- The keynote speaker, former Secretary of the United States Treasury Robert Rubin, summed up the event in one statement. “Your politics have to be as good as your policy, otherwise the policy simply will not work.”
- Hamburg, our sister city, is the home of the UN’s International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. I had previously referenced the Law of the Sea as being lenient, and I may have to correct that assertion. The rules seem to be regid, but they are lightly enforced.
- The Mayor of Hamburg, Michael Freytag, believes that the first rule of smart urban growth is sustainability, and the first rule of sustainable development is a balanced budget. Debts and deficits matter, they directly effect your freedom to invest for further generations.
- Daley believes in selling the human side of leasing public assets as his politics. “Why are we leasing X public system to private ventures? Because the money is used to pay for a specific hospital here or a specific school there.”
- Mayors obviously have to be pro-business, but this should be considered as a consequence of fostering a prospering educational system. Investment in education comes with an increase in quality of life.
- Sustainable living starts with sustainable government. It is important to lead by example rather than simply dictating rules and boundaries. Avoid being hypocrites.
- Jaime Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil acts as if Daley is an old poker buddy. I have never seen our mayor laugh that hard.
- Mayor Lerner also had some insight in his comedy. “Creativity starts when you cut a zero from your budget. You get even more creativity when you cut 2 zeros.” He also drew an analogy on how politics is inherited, and said the he learned to play the cello because his father could play the cello and so passed it down to him. He glanced at Daley and said something to the effect of “I’m sure mayor Daley could tell you all about that.” Daley’s response? “I don’t play the cello.”
- Brent Warr, the Mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, spoke extensively on his response to the devastation of Katrina. When the question was posed “Is your city a global city? If so, how do you maintain yourselves as a global city, and if not, are you on your way to becoming one?” He replied “Gulfport is more of a regional city… in fact, we’re blown around most of southern Mississippi.”
- There was a break out forum that I attended on open space planning, besides the audience using the misplaced panel participant, President of ComEd Barry Mitchell, as a punching bag, an interesting concept developed. The litmus test for open places and public spaces should be “Does it play well locally as well as with tourists?” You want your site to have longevity, and the local populace must embrace it.
- The City of Chicago’s latin motto is “Urbs in Horto” or “City in a Garden”
- Bruce Mau is an incredible mind. He said two things of substantial weight. First, if you kiss one thousand frogs, suddenly a prince appears. Second, democracy is not involvement, it is leadership.
It was a great event. I can’t wait to go to it again next year. Bruce Mau is moving to Chicago, so I think I will apply for a job with him.
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