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Boomers
have work to do for cities
By PAUL M. BRAY
Times Union, November 10, 2002
Before aging
baby boomers get on with their final act, they have some unfinished
business. On their watch, in the slightly more than
half century since World War II, American cities have been in free fall.
At a recent conference titled
"Monumental Visions & Urban Transformations in Albany,
1948-1978," regional planner Todd Fabozzi graphically illustrated the
ripples of suburban growth decade by decade since 1950, while Albany,
Schenectady and Troy declined.
Baby boomers have had a great ride,
contributing to and benefiting from a remarkable period of national
prosperity. One thing in particular is striking about their time and
legacy -- the decline of cities and community. Boomers opted for
suburbanization or creating one-dimensional, auto-dependent communities
arguably great for raising children, but leaving minorities and the poor
behind and cities to decay.
Lewis Mumford, who authored books on
the culture and history of cities, viewed their main function as being an
agent of human continuity. Seeing what was happening to our cities, he
declared, "When the living memory of the city, which once bound
together generations and centuries, disappears: its inhabitants live in a
self-annihilating moment-to-moment continuum. The poorest Stone Age savage
never lived in such a destitute and demoralized community."
We may have reached the point in
America where cities, other than world-class places like New York,
Washington, L.A. and San Francisco, will pass from the scene as centers of
cultural, social and economic activity. Despite well-intended
revitalization efforts in the '90s, population and income in cities such
as those in upstate New York continued to decline.
Boomers were the last generation to
know downtowns as marketplaces and social centers. They offer the last
likely possibility of restoring cities as centers for living, learning and
earning a livelihood. Using their link to the pre-suburban past and the
wisdom that comes with experience, they should be able to take on the
challenging task.
If boomers are to rise to this
destiny, the will to do so has to come from within. Regrettably, no
current national leader like the late President Kennedy is going to
challenge them to forgo present needs to create a legacy of revitalized
cities.
Let us consider what the job entails.
Boomers need to move back to the cities. Sure, they can take that couple
of months in Florida if they can't stand the winter, but spring, summer
and fall offer good weather in northern cities. Entrepreneurial boomers
interested in a second career should look in the city. Retail activity has
all but abandoned traditional cities, leaving new opportunities in its
wake. If boomers moved back to the city, they would be growing the urban
market for goods and services as well as expanding the tax base.
Retired boomers have a wealth of
knowledge and experience to assist urban schools and organizations. We
have gone too far in this country in separating young people, adults and
seniors into their own little worlds. That is only great for selling
products to them. Boomers moving back to cities could be a step in
breaking down barriers among age groups. A first step would be getting
boomers into schools as mentors and children out of the classroom and into
activities throughout the city.
Finally, boomers need to be a strong
political force demanding that societal resources be invested in cities.
Boomers came of
age in the '60s, launching a tidal wave of change. Let
us hope they will not be content to let their last act slip by when they
have a job to do restoring our cities.
Paul M. Bray is president of the Albany Roundtable civic lunch forum. His e-mail is secsunday@aol.com.
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