« Cincinnati, USA | Main | Citizens and 'shareholders' »

October 23, 2009

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

A city like Phoenix would be hostile to any visionary and given its current struggles, hostile to anyone who hopes to stem the city's bleeding. There isn't much else going on except perpetuating a myth that Phoenix is a "winner" city. Right-wing media like Forbes Magazine and The Wall St Journal will do their part but it's probable this cheerleading will sound a little tinny when the growth slows to a crawl.

We've defied gravity for a couple of decades now and a peek downward will not comfort the faint of heart. Pessimism isn't a strategy but it does afford striking vistas as the mirage dissipates.

Managing our civic retrenchment will be the leading task of the next City Manager. There will be disappointed citizens and municipal employees. The worst thing will be the gradual realization that this new state of affairs could become chronic, that Phoenix's onward-and-upward trajectory has now become a snail's random travels around a shrinking garden. Nostalgia for the boom years will slowly replace the boom itself as our default social reality. Remember when? Yes, we do and it doesn't change a damn thing.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

My Photo

Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz