The 44th President | New office focuses on city issues

In the past, local politicians have tackled Philadelphia's problems - but President Barack Obama's newly created Office of Urban Affairs will take city issues to the federal level.

The Office of Urban Affairs will bring "long-overdue attention to the urban areas where 80 percent of the American people live," said Obama on Feb. 19 as he announced Adolfo Carrion as the Office's director.

According to the White House, his new position demands coordination of all urban programs and the development of novel strategies to address problems in metropolitan America.

Carrion has spent most of his life in the Bronx, during his childhood, as a public-school teacher and the last seven years as the Borough President.

America's cities contain a disproportionate number of economically disadvantaged people, and the Office of Urban Affairs will be expected to address this.

However, "cities spawn innovation, economic growth and cultural enrichment," Obama said in his announcement. The Office will be expected to encourage the positive aspects of cities as well as the problems.

For those who work day-to-day with inner-city problems, the announcement is very welcome.

David Grossman, director of Civic House, said the Office will not only improve the efficiency of federal spending on cities but acts as an indication of the new administration's attitude toward urban areas.

"Money is one thing, but visibility, leverage and influence are important," he said.

He explained that collaboration between the various parts of government that affect cities is lacking and adding attention to urban issues might change this.

He noted that at Vice President Joe Biden's Middle Class Task Force meeting in Irvine Auditorium last Friday, which included six cabinet secretaries, there were signs of collaboration on issues concerning cities that represent "fairly novel steps."

In his role as Civic House director, he spends a lot of time with student volunteers. He said the atmosphere in which they work is changing under the new administration.

"In a much more intangible way ... there's a sense of hope," he said, among volunteers who work with people in Philadelphia.

He said the Office plays a part in "finding a different voice in this administration," such that those who care about the problems of the city are inspired and "feel supported."

Some experts in urban affairs have praised the creation of this office.

"Things are different in the cities than in the heartland," said Fels School of Government's Peter Angelides, who is also a city planner and a vice president of Econsult Corporation, an economic consulting firm.

He explained that despite the large sums of money that are spent in cities, federal legislation often does not recognize the distinction between urban and rural areas.

For example, policies that specify how highways are built do not accommodate the density of homes, schools and people in urban areas.

"There is no reason not to change this," Angelides said. "This office could be a bug in the ear of regulators."

He said the list of such inappropriate policies "could be made fairly long."

He added that aside from advocating the specific needs of urban areas, the Office should be proactive and set policy itself.

Carrion "focused on turning the Bronx into a middle-class area," he said, adding, "there are a lot of poor people who do not live in cities as well."

Looking back over the past administrations, Angelides said attention to cities has "waxed and waned" from one to the next.

"Back 20, 30, 40 years ago there was incredible attention paid to cities," he said. "That has decreased significantly."

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