So how can this renaissance bloom? Cisneros has three wishes:
“First, I wish for a strong economy like the one I had the honor of being associated with on President Clinton’s watch, which was the longest economic expansion in our country’s history, during which we saw lower interest rates, higher job formations, higher small-business creations, lowering poverty rates, stronger labor markets, and the highest homeownership rate in American history. I would wish for that to be a more-permanent part of the American economy because when that happens, it’s a precondition for the cities to do well. You’ve got to have low interest rates, you’ve got to have that investment incentive, you’ve got to have those tight labor markets so employers are hiring down lower into populations that they wouldn’t otherwise address.”
“Secondly, I would wish that the economy works for our emerging populations. We know our minority populations are going to be large on the American scene, but the question is are they going to be productive, well educated, creative, employed, ambitious, and rewarded for their skills? I would wish for an economy that reached these new and emergent populations so that they provide the impetus for the next generation of American progress, so that they fill in behind traditional populations that are aging.”
“My third wish would have to be for builders to understand the opportunities posed by new populations in our nation’s cities and to be creative enough and imaginative enough to design our neighborhoods, our homes, in such a way that American cities are livable, so they’re places to work, learn, places to play, and places to live. The marketplace creates these opportunities, and then people who are naturally inclined to be good designers and bring their skills to cities do it. And I think that’s what we’re seeing: a bigger critical mass of people who will be designing green, building more densely, constructing homes near mass transportation, who are developing mixed-use and mixed-income projects. … I’m hopeful that that’s what we’ll see.”
