The New Localism by Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak
As politics has become nationalized in recent years, problem solving has become localized, a trend termed new localism. New localism is governance founded on collaboration, not coercion; diverse networks, not just elected officials; and iterative problem solving, not rigid and prescriptive approaches. Cities (the local level) are an ideal test bed for new ideas because they can accumulate public, private, and civic wealth to create new design, finance, and delivery methods. It’s this joining of public, private, and civic sectors into a collaborative that can quickly test and implement new ideas that is the basis of new localism.
Cities are multi-sector and multi-discipline networks that can think outside the box. Solutions can be customized at the local level to fit the needs of the community by looking at innovations from other cities and adapting, tailoring, or replicating their practices. At the national level, legislation is drafted as one size fits all leading to inefficient resource management and a less democratic process. Formerly national issues like environmental protection or food distribution are increasingly being addressed locally.
The United States has a huge metro advantage since much of the population growth is in urban metros but policies are not developed support it. The only federal agency with some policies related to advancing the advantages of metro areas is the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As a result, power is shifting from federal and state, down to the city level where local governments engage with the civic and private sectors to harness the power of global markets.
As cities begin to harness this new power, they must focus on investing in place, identifying points of global economic relevance, and increasing social cohesion. Problem solving needs to become more akin to an entrepreneur willing to experiment and take risks, knowing failure is a possibility. The way to ensure success is by creating a multidisciplinary focus and collaborative practice that leverages experience and expertise of many sectors. Regular engagement of business, civic, and academic leaders will elevate pragmatic thinking and halt gridlock. New localism sets aside the project by project engagement method and establishes regular engagement through an organized network to go beyond the single project approach. These networks are agile enough to leverage the market and demographic dynamics to go beyond small wins and create real change.
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But by all means, try something.”
Improvement starts with making a city safe and clean. The next step is to market the community, then move into modest streetscape improvements (lights, plants, banners). At this point small projects can be implemented and finally major undertakings that transform the community. Cities no longer can rely on limited government funding to see improvements made. A number of new financial mechanisms will be needed, all falling under the umbrella of metro finance—a multi-sector collaborative managed through hybrid institutions including private and civil society. Attracting conventional capital to new sectors can be accomplished using liquidity, direct capital protection, and lower transaction costs. It will require philanthropy, civic society, capital intermediaries, impact investors, public-private sector investment intermediaries, and research universities.
Successful cities today are innovating in growth, government and finance. It requires leadership, not just big donors. The leaders bring groups and individuals together and operate horizontally, not in the traditional hierarchy of government. This soft power government system combines the “grasstop” actors (government, universities, philanthropies) with the grassroots players (community groups, residents, organizations).
Finally, implementing the new localism approach will take an upheaval of the traditional governing systems of nearly all our cities. To be successful they must:
Focus on solutions, not problems
Recognize the assets and hidden protentional for productive, inclusive, sustainable growth
Pool talent into a collective group with one focus
Audit existing institutions to assess whether they can get the job done
Develop a new set of intermediaries to connect cities and capital in innovative ways
View cities not as government, but as networks of public, private, and civic actors
Celebrate horizontal leadership
