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When a City Cared for Its People

“The vision I think that guides me forward, or what I’m kindof working towards, is this idea of a more just city. 

 

“When I was in college, I went to Italy to visit a friend, and I was blown away by the fact that in historic Rome their sidewalks were covered by colonnades. And it really dawned on me that to spend all the money on that infrastructure showed a great value of the citizenry of Rome, versus growing up in Richmond, where bus stops aren’t covered and people are sitting in the rain waiting for a bus, and that does not show an equal value for the citizens.

 

“And I just thought that if a city as built correctly it would care for its people.

 

“So when affluent people have pride in Richmond, they’re talking about breweries, restaurants, James River, charming architecture, the fan. And all of that to me is kindof the low-hanging fruit and this idea of consuming parts of Richmond without understanding what the larger responsibility is for Richmond. A well-informed sense of pride takes more into consideration than these components that affluent people do.

 

“I think to be better informed—to start to be informed enough—folks, especially affluent white folks, need to take into account that there is an unmet need for safe schools where people are learning what they need to know to be successful and productive citizens. I think they need to understand the difference in the way that neighborhoods have developed over time that creates—or creates obstacles to—important resources in the city, like jobs, like good food, like recreational assets that allow kids and families to get outside.

 

“I think primarily a just city is a place where people have a voice and people have avenues to improve their own community. And I think to me that means self-determination. So a city’s residents have a way to impact the way that a city develops.”  

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