An urban president
Last night, the United States elected a president who lives within walking distance of rail transit (and a Vice President who commutes by Amtrak.) Obviously, this is a minor point in the scheme of things. But it’s not insignificant. Even after World War Two, long after the country had become urban, presidents have hailed from, or least identified themselves with, small towns: Independence, MO; Gettysburg, PA; Hyannisport, MA; Johnson City, TX; San Clemente, CA; Plains, GA; Kennebunkport, ME; Crawford, TX. Even Little Rock, AR isn’t that big. But Obama lives only four miles from the center of the third largest city of the United States, and his political roots are unquestionably urban. That should not be remarkable in a country where 80% of the population lives in metropolitan areas. But our politics has valued “small town values” and as a result the issues of cities — traffic congestion, for example — have not been a major part of the national dialog. But we can hope that’s changing. Many of the places that helped swing this election — the Philadelphia suburbs, Northern Virginia, Denver — are places that have rail transit, are building rail transit, or are demanding rail transit. Will that shape the policy debates to come?
Have your say in our forums.