Speaking of the law

I had a long drive back from Georgia and so much of the time gets spent in discussion/argument. We were talking about mayors/Governors and who might be remembered-recognized in 20 years for having substantive impact, changing their communities for the better. E.g., Mayor O'Malley (now Gov.) was a "rock star" but he's no Richard Daley. Let's see what happens as Governor. Similarly, if it weren't for Bill Bratton, what accomplishments would Rudolph Giuliani really have? If Michael Bloomberg didn't succeed Guiliani, it's likely that the changes that Giuliani instituted (Giuliani was personality rather than systems and robust-processes-based) wouldn't have had longevity. Ed Rendell, Mayor of Philadelphia/Gov. of Pennsylvania...

Gov. Glendening was key in bringing about a realization of the importance of "smart growth" principles although too many politicos from the other side see "smart growth" as a Democratic party thing in Maryland, which was one of the reasons that Gov. Ehrlich dumped it. Similarly, Republican Gov. Romney in Massachusetts created the Office of Commonwealth Development to coordinate growth planning amongst state agencies and to incentivize smart growth planning at the local level. His successor, Democrat Deval Patrick, dumped the OCD, just like Gov. Ehrlich dumped Smart Growth...

Not good.

Anyway, I am coming to believe that the most important political figure for urban revitalization in the last 15 years has been William Bratton, police chief in Boston, NYC, and now Los Angeles. In each city there has been fundamental improvements. 30 years ago, people felt that NYC was going to the abyss, people didn't ride the subway, etc. It's not like that now. Guiliani gets the credit, but safety is the foundational principle of urban revitalization as it is a necessity in order to attract residents (and workers) who have choices and money to spend and invest.

The solution to disinvestment is investment. It's all about the green.