July 13 / Administration of , 2009 teams these days. Most of the soccer I’ve seen of service. Just last week, the Crew spent time recently has been at my daughters’ games. with young people in Columbus cleaning up And I’ve learned that there are two important some of the low-income neighborhoods near rules at that age—I’m sure some of you may Crew Stadium, which strengthens their com- remember this. The first is, no matter what munity and reaches out to folks who need it position you play, just run straight to the ball most. and congregate around it. [Laughter] And the That kind of spirit of service is what this second rule is, don’t forget the snacks at half- White House wants to encourage in all citi- time. [Laughter] zens, but seeing it from professional athletes is But I see that my daughters love playing especially gratifying. And so we appreciate also this game of soccer, and we know that this is the clinic that the Crew is going to put on for an exciting time for soccer in America. We just young people here in DC today, which teaches watched Team USA shock the world at the them not just skills but also how to live healthy Confederation Cup, and we’re in the middle and active lives. of another impressive run in the Gold Cup. And thanks to that example—an example As some of you may know, I just got back set by the Crew and by players across MLS from the G–8 meeting in Italy, and one of the leaders there was President Lula da Silva of and women’s professional soccer as well—I’m Brazil. He gave me a hard time about Team confident that American soccer will remain USA dropping a 2-0 lead in the Confedera- something to be excited about for years to tions Cup final, but I reminded him that we come. held our own against the best teams in the So congratulations again for the incredible world, we shocked a lot of people, and we championship season and good luck next year. might just see that team in the World Cup And I have to say that that’s a big trophy—so next year. So it’s clear that soccer in America is give them a big round of applause, everybody. on the rise, and MLS is a big part of that. Thank you. I want to congratulate Chad Marshall on being named Defender of the Year; Guillermo NOTE: The President spoke at 2:31 p.m. in the Barros Schelotto for winning the MVP award Rose Garden at the White House. In his re- and assisting in all three goals in the champi- marks, he referred to Reps. Steven L. Drie- onship game. haus and Mary Jo Kilroy; and Clark Hunt, Jr., And finally, I want to salute these guys for owner, Robert Warzycha, head coach, Sigi donating so much time and energy to the Co- Schmid, former head coach, Chad Marshall, lumbus community, and we thank them for defender, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, participating in our United We Serve summer forward/midfielder, Columbus Crew.

Remarks in a Discussion on Urban and Metropolitan Policy July 13, 2009

The President. All right. Well, hello, every- see you; —where are you? The body. A couple of quick acknowledgments: legendary—[laughter]—good to see you, my Where’s Greg—where’s Greg Nickels? Thank friend; Federico Pena, thank you so you. There you are, Greg. Thank you so much much—who worked so hard to help us get for your participation today. I understand elected; Julia Stasch—where’s my friend from Governor Rendell is here, or was here. He Chicago? There she is. Good to see you, Julia. may have stepped out, but when he comes And obviously, you know our outstanding Cab- back in, I hope to have a chance to say hello to inet that is so focused on these issues: Ray La- him. Burrell Ellis, CEO of DeKalb Coun- Hood; Shaun Donovan; Lisa Jackson. ty—it’s so nice to see you, Burrell; Kathie No- Where’s—Ms. Mills, there; great to see Karen, vak—where’s Kathie? Hey, Kathie, good to and .

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I just want you to know, as well as our new they are right now, and tens of thousands of po- Director of our office of—I always forget the lice officers and firefighters and teachers would full name of this thing; I call it the drug czar, be out of a job as we speak. And I think that all but—[laughter]. of you are aware of that. National Drug Control Policy Director R. Gil But what’s also clear is we’re going to need to Kerlikowske. I’m fine with that. [Laughter] do more than just help our cities weather the The President. Okay, Gil. By the way, Nickels current economic storm. We’ve got to figure vouched for you. [Laughter] out ways to rebuild them on a newer, firmer, Thank you so much, all of you, for participat- stronger foundation for our future. And that re- ing. I see a lot of friends, old and new. And it’s quires new strategies for our cities and metro- great to be back, and it’s great to be joined by politan areas that focus on advancing opportu- some of the finest urban thinkers in America for nity through competitive, sustainable, and in- what I understand has been a critical conversa- clusive growth. And that’s why all of you are tion on the future of America’s urban and met- here today. And I know that there were a lot of ropolitan areas. ideas that were shared throughout the morning Now, as you might imagine, this is a subject and afternoon. that’s near and dear to my heart. I’ve lived al- Now, the first thing we need to recognize is most all my life in urban areas. Michelle and I that this is not just a time of challenge for chose to raise our daughters in the city where America’s cities; it’s also a time of great change. she grew up. And even though I went to college Even as we’ve seen many of our central cities in LA and , and law school across the continuing to grow in recent years, we’ve seen river from Boston, I received my greatest edu- their suburbs and exurbs grow roughly twice as cation on Chicago’s south side, working at the fast—that spreads homes and jobs and busi- local level to bring about change in those com- nesses to a broader geographic area. And this munities and opportunities to people’s lives. transformation is creating new pressures and And I see a number of Chicago folks who problems, of course, but it’s also opening up were fighting with me—I mean, alongside new opportunities, because it’s not just our cit- me—[laughter]—for many years. I already ies that are hotbeds of innovation anymore; it’s mentioned Julia, but obviously, there are a our growing metropolitan areas. number of other folks as well. And when I spoke to the U.S. Conference of And that experience also gave me an under- Mayors last year, I tried to hone in on this point standing of some of the challenges facing city halls all across the country. And I know that that what, I think, traditionally had been seen as those challenges are particularly severe today this divide between city and suburb, that in because of this recession. Four in five cities some ways you’ve seen both city and suburb have had to cut services, just when folks need it now come together and recognize they can’t the most, and 48 States face the prospects of solve their problems in isolation, they’ve got to budget deficits in the coming fiscal year. paying attention to each other. And these met- And that’s one reason why we took swift and ropolitan areas, they’re home to 85 percent of aggressive action in the first months of my ad- our jobs and 90 percent of our economic out- ministration to pull our economy—— put. Now, that doesn’t mean investing in America [At this point, the teleprompter screen fell.] comes at the expense of rural America, quite the opposite. Investing in mass transit and high- ——oh, goodness, sorry about that, speed rail, for example, doesn’t just make our guys—[laughter]—to pull our economy back downtowns more livable; it helps our regional from the brink, including the largest and most economies grow. Investing in renewable energy sweeping economic recovery plan in our Na- doesn’t just make our cities cleaner; it boosts tion’s history. If we had not taken that step, our rural areas that harness that energy. Our urban cities would be in a even deeper hole, and State and rural communities are not independent, budget deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are interdependent.

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So what’s needed now is a new, imaginative, our cities by recognizing that different com- bold vision tailored to this reality that brings munities need different solutions. So instead opportunity to every corner of our growing of isolated and monolithic public housing proj- metropolitan areas, a new strategy that’s about ects that too often trap residents in a cycle of southern Florida as much as Miami; that’s poverty and isolate them further, we want to about Mesa and Scottsdale as much as it’s invest in proven strategies that actually trans- about Phoenix; that’s about Aurora and Boul- form communities and enhance opportunity der and Northglenn as much as about Denver. for residents and businesses alike. An early step was to appoint Adolfo Carrion But we also need to fundamentally change as our first White House Director of Urban the way we look at metropolitan development. Affairs. And his team and he share my belief For too long, Federal policy has actually en- that our cities need more than just a partner; couraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, they need a partner who knows that the old rather than quality public transportation and ways of looking at our cities just won’t do. And smart, sustainable development. And we’ve that’s why I’ve directed the Office of Manage- been keeping communities isolated when we ment and Budget, the Domestic Policy Coun- should have been bringing them together. cil, the National Economic Council, and the And that’s why we’ve created a new inter- Office of Urban Affairs to conduct the first agency partnership on sustainable communi- comprehensive interagency review in 30 years ties, led by Shaun Donovan, as well as Ray La- of how the Federal Government approaches Hood and Lisa Jackson. And by working to- and funds urban and metropolitan areas so gether, their agencies can make sure that that we can start having a concentrated, fo- when it comes to development—housing, cused, strategic approach to Federal efforts to transportation, energy efficiency—these revitalize our metropolitan areas. things aren’t mutually exclusive, they go hand And we’re also going to take a hard look at in hand. And that means making sure that af- how Washington helps or hinders our cities fordable housing exists in close proximity to and metro areas, from infrastructure to trans- jobs and transportation. That means encourag- portation, from housing to energy, from sus- tainable development to education. And we’re ing shorter travel times and lower travel costs. going to make sure Federal policies aren’t hos- It means safer, greener, more livable commu- tile to good ideas or best practices on the local nities. levels. We’re going to put an end to throwing So we’re off to a good start. But the truth is, money at what doesn’t work, and we’re going is that Washington can’t solve all of these to start investing in what does work and make problems that face our cities, and frankly, I sure that we’re encouraging that. know that cities don’t expect Washington to Now, we began to do just that with my bud- solve all these problems. Instead of waiting for get proposal, which included two investments Washington, a lot of cities have already gone in innovative and proven strategies. I just want ahead and become their own laboratories for to mention these briefly. Now, the first, Prom- change and innovation, some leading the ise Neighborhoods, is modeled on Geoffrey world in coming up with new ways to solve the Canada’s successful Harlem Children’s Zone. problems of our time. It’s an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck ef- So you take an example like Denver. Their fort that’s turning around the lives of New metropolitan area is projected to grow by 1 York City’s children, block by block. And million residents over the next 15 years or so. we—what we want to do is to make grants But rather than wait for a congestion crisis, available for communities in other cities to they’re already at work on plans to build and jump-start their own neighborhood-level in- operate a public transit system up to the chal- terventions that change the odds for our kids. lenge, and to surround that system with smart The second proposal we call Choice Neigh- new housing, retail, and office development borhoods, focuses on new ideas for housing in near each stop.

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Philadelphia is an example of what’s been tious designs unveiled 100 years ago this month called “urban agriculture.” It may sound like an that helped transform Chicago into a world- oxymoron, but one proposal is trying to make a class city. That’s the same spirit with which we situation where fresh, local food supplies are have to approach the reinvention of all of Amer- within a short walk for most city residents, ica’s cities and metropolitan areas, a vision of vi- which will have a direct impact not only on the brant, sustainable places that provide our chil- economy and on the environment but also make dren with every chance to learn and to grow, an immeasurable difference in the health of and that allow our businesses and workers the Americans. best opportunity to innovate and succeed, and Or Kansas City, one idea there focuses on that let our older Americans live out their best transforming a low-income community into a years in the midst of all that metropolitan life national model of sustainability by weatherizing can offer. Now is the time to seize that moment homes and building a green local transit system. of possibility, and I am absolutely confident So three different cities with three unique that, starting today with this conversation, you ideas for the future, and that’s why they’re three and I together, we’re going to be able to make of the cities that are members of my—that the this happen. members of my Cabinet and Office of Urban So thank you for joining us, and I’m looking Affairs will visit this summer as part of a ongo- forward to all of us getting to work. Thank you. ing national conversation to lift up best practic- es from around the country, to look at innova- NOTE: The President spoke at 4:10 p.m. in tions for the metropolitan areas of tomorrow. Room 350 of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Exec- And forward-looking cities shouldn’t be suc- utive Office Building. In his remarks, he re- ceeding despite Washington; they should be ferred to Mayor Gregory J. Nickels of Seattle, succeeding with a hand from Washington. We WA; Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania; want to hear directly from them, and we want to Mayor Kathleen M. Novak of Northglenn, CO; hear directly from all of you, on fresh ideas and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel- successful solutions that you’ve devised, and opment Henry G. Cisneros; former Secretary of then figure out what the Federal Government Energy Federico Pena; Julia M. Stasch, vice can do or shouldn’t do to help reinvent cities president, Human and Community Develop- and metropolitan areas for the 21st century. ment, The John D. and Catherine T. MacAr- So I know that this change is possible. After thur Foundation; Secretary of Transportation all, I’m from a city that knows a little something Raymond H. LaHood; Secretary of Housing about reinventing itself. In the 19th century, af- and Urban Development Shaun L.S. Donovan; ter a cataclysmic fire, Chicagoans rebuilt stron- Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, Environmental ger than before. In the last century, they led the Protection Agency; Karen G. Mills, Administra- world upward in steel and glass. And in this tor, Small Business Administration; Secretary of century, under my friend Mayor Daley’s leader- Labor Hilda L. Solis; Adolfo Carrion, Jr., Direc- ship, they’re helping to lead the world forward tor, White House Office of Urban Affairs; Geof- in newer, greener, more livable ways. frey Canada, president and chief executive offi- Daniel Burnham said, “Make no little plans.” cer, Harlem Children’s Zone; and Mayor Rich- And that’s the spirit behind his bold and ambi- ard M. Daley of Chicago, IL.

Remarks Following a Meeting With Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands and an Exchange With Reporters July 14, 2009

President Obama. Well, let me just make a gation. We are about to celebrate the 400th an- very brief statement. I am very pleased to have niversary of Henry Hudson, on behalf of a Prime Minister Balkenende here and his dele- Dutch company, exploring and

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