Do we really want our mayors to have a vision? This is the provocative question asked by Alain Bertaud in an article on The MIT Press Reader. Bertaud is a Senior Research Scholar at New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, an urban planner, and the author of the 2018 book Order without Design.
In his article, Bertaud writes that a mayor “convinced of the necessity of having a vision” is less inclined to support innovation welling up from the population and more inclined to impose his or her own vision.
A mayor with a vision needs to be followed, not questioned by people who lack one. Visionary leadership implies a top-down approach, in other words, but a city is mostly created from the bottom up.
Bertaud’s alternative?
Mayors and their municipal staff, including urban planners and economists, should be considered not visionaries or rulers, then, but a well-coordinated team (one hopes) of competent managers and janitors.
Bertaud’s article is the subject of this week’s Upzoned. In this episode, host Abby Kinney, an urban planner with Gould Evans in Kansas City, is joined by Strong Towns senior editor Daniel Herriges. They discuss visionary mayors, the role of city managers in creating good feedback loops, and how local governments can act as support systems for local innovation rather than gatekeepers.
Then in the Downzoned, Abby recommends a podcast that’s taking a hard look at the lucrative wellness industry. And Daniel recommends a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about North Vietnamese spy living in Los Angeles after the Fall of Saigon.
Show NotesDo We Really Want Our Mayors to Have a Vision?, by Alain Bertaud
Order without Design, by Alain Bertaud
Dongo Chang (Twitter)
The Dream Podcast
The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Daniel Herriges (Twitter)
Abby Kinney (Twitter)
Gould Evans Studio for City Design
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom (Soundcloud)
Select Strong Towns articles on local government
Let's Make Public Hearings More Public, by Travis Parker
Learn from Peers but Think for Yourself, by Charles Marohn
Prototyping the City (podcast)
Beyond the Buzzword: Innovation and How it Can Help Local Government Create Meaningful Change (podcast)
Is the End of the Single-Family Neighborhood Near?
The Two Things Your City Needs to Do If You Want to End Blight
Why Our Housing Problems Don't Obey the Laws of Physics
Why does Strong Towns put *so* much emphasis on its members—and why is that so unusual in the nonprofit world?
What Would You Do if You Got a $5,000 Street Repair Bill in the Mail?
How Conservatives and Liberals Define "Fair"—and What It Means For Our Cities' Futures
Cracking Down on Pedestrians Won't Make Streets Safer
No, Revitalizing Rural America Isn't A Lost Cause. But the Way You're Thinking About it Might Be.
Can Any City Really Survive on Locally-Grown Food Alone?
Will Smart City Technology Really Make Our Places Stronger?
So Your Town is Building Lots of New Housing Units! But How Many New *Doorbells* Are You Losing?
Strong Towns: The Book is Finally Coming. But Why *Now*?
Why Does Your City Stop When It Snows?
Will Electric Vehicles Save the World, or Make Our Cities Weaker?
What Would You Do if the Government Put a Speed Limiter on Your Car?
What Happens When Algorithms Get Into the Home Flipping Business
Forget Gas and Insurance. How Much Does Your Daily Commute Really Cost You?
Accessory Dwelling Units Rock. But Should States Be Overriding Cities' Laws About Building Them?
Can Cities Like St. Louis Get Financially Stronger by Merging with Richer Places?
Can a Big City Solve a Big Housing Shortage Incrementally?
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