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City-Friendly Trail Talk Hasn't Translated

Obama has right ideas, urban activists say, needs more action

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted May 26, 2009 3:37 PM CDT

(Newser) – Unlike his immediate predecessors, President Obama is a pretty citified guy, and has ignited hope among urban-policy experts. Obama has made promising appointments, tweaked policy in city-friendly ways, created a new White House Office of Urban Affairs. But, advocates tell Salon, how federal government deals with cities is a tough nut to crack. “Hope is there,” says one. “Change is going to be a little bit longer.”

The Urban Affairs office has mainly been silent, and Obama’s proposed programs have been small and, in some cases, pretty traditional. “We’re on the road to wonderful,” the advocate adds. “But that’s where we are—on the road right now. We’re getting there.”

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

President Barack Obama attends the Washington Wizards NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls at the Verizon Center, Feb. 27, 2009. (AP Photo)

In this 2008 file photo, University of North Carolina player Jack Wooten pressures then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama during a basketball game in Chapel Hill, NC. (AP Photo)

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., arrives at a barber shop for a hair cut Saturday, July 12, 2008, in his Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leaves a barber shop after a 2008 haircut in his Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. (AP Photo)

President-elect Barack Obama stops to eat in Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, Jan. 10, 2009. (AP Photo)

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His heart is in the right place. If you've elected to send Chicago to the White House, ultimately you're going to have some very interesting programming. - Larry Rosenthal, executive director of the Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy

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City-Friendly Trail Talk Hasn't Translated