William H. Hudnut, III currently occupies the Joseph C. Canizaro Chair for Public Policy at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC. He served as Mayor of Indianapolis for sixteen years, served six years on the Town Council for Chevy Chase, Maryland (two as mayor), is a former Congressman and clergyman and is the past president of both the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and the National League of Cities.
"A city is a cradle of culture, an organ of memory, the enactment of the human drama, transmitting human achievement and insight from generation to generation."
July 8, 2008 The Heart of America Bill Hudnut, Senior Resident Fellow, Urban Land Institute
Listen now [2 min, 10 sec]
A city is a community where diversity and density are combined to bring people together around common experiences and loyalties. At its best this community is characterized by civility, respect, and neighborly concern. It's a place where people feel they're rooted, where they belong, where they're welcomed as they try to participate in civic life.
A city is also a cradle of culture, an organ of memory, the enactment of the human drama, transmitting human achievement and insight from generation to generation. It's a crucible of creativity, generating innovation, new thinking, fresh meaning, where people fulfill their individual and collective potential. It's a container, the central locus of politics and governance, transportation and communication networks, as well as other economic engines and enterprises that create wealth.
A good city is one that works. Trash is picked up, snow is plowed, potholes are filled, streets and sidewalks are cleaned, and calls for emergency help are promptly answered. The first job of a mayor, it seems to me, is to mind the store and to deliver basic services efficiently.
In a good city, people feel included in the visioning and decision making processes, not separated by racial or ethnic differences. A good city has overcome fragmentation of governmental units and the paralysis that results from inability to build consensus. It fits into the region and state as part of a larger whole, particularly with reference to land use, transportation, sustainability and quality-of-life issues.
At the center of a large metropolitan area, and in our less urban and rural areas as well, a city supplies the heartbeat and the signature for a region. It's where people gather to live and work and play and learn and grow.
It's often complex, but cities can really be described rather simply: whether large or small, urban or rural, they are indeed where the heart of America can be found.
