DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 024 UD 030 965 AUTHOR Vitullo-Martin, Julia, Ed. TITLE Breaking Away. The Futore of Cities. Essays in Memory of Robert F. Wagner, Jr. INSTITUTION Twentieth Century Fund, New York, N.Y. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87078-379-3 PUB DATE 95 NOTE 263p. AVAILABLE FROM The Twentieth Century Fund Press, 41 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021 (paperback: ISBN-0-87078-386-6; clothbound: ISBN-0-87078-379-3). PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) Reports Evaluative/Feasibility (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Economic Factors; *Futures (of Society); Housing; Low Income Groups; Policy Formation; Poverty; *Public Policy; Public Schools; Settlement Houses; *Social Services Urban Areas; Urban Planning; Urban Problems; *Urban Renewal; Urban Studies ABSTRACT The death of Robert F. Wagner, Jr., the widely admired former deputy mayor of New York( City, in 1993, halted collaboration on a planned book about solutions to urban problems. This collection, dedicated to his memory, takes up the legacy of the earlier book with discussion of the future of cities from the scholarly perspective, from the perspective of new urban policies, and from the perspective of practitioners in the field of urban studies. Chapters 5 and 12 deal specifically with education issues. Contributions to the collection are:(1) "Introduction" (Julia Vitullo-Martin);(2) "Urban Poverty and Race" (J. Phillip Thompson); (3) "The Economies of Cities" (Dick Netzer);(4) "The Permanent Urban Fiscal Crisis" (Ester R. Fuchs);(5) "The Problem of the Schools: A Proposal for Renewal" (Diane Ravitch) ; (6) "Crime and the City" (Christopher Stone);(7) "Housing and Neighborhoods: (Julia Vitullo-Martin) ;(8) "'Back to the Future': Reviving the Settlement House as Neighborhood Social Service Center" (Ellen Chesler); (9) "The Rise of the Private City" (Paul Goldberger); (10) "The Health and Welfare of Cities" (Donna E. Shalala);(11) "New York Underground: Rescuing the MTA" (Robert R. Kiley);(12) "The Future of Public Education" (Joseph A. Fernandez);(13) "Lifeblood of the City: The Arts in New York" (Nathan Leventhal) ;(14) "The Continuity of Purpose" (Stanley Brezenoff and Roger Cohen);(15) "Beloved City" (William J. Dear); and (16) "Epilogue" (Julia Vitullo-Martin). (Contains eight figures and eight tables.)(SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. ***********************************,:********************************* MD' r, NligtNNE( U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NNW; Moe or Educational Research anci Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) edit 111111# 1 This document has been reproducedas solo ...received from the ['arson or organization originating it RIOloll;xi 0 Minor changes have been made to itlitti improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent ft official OERI position or policy tA N 11 1. 101! Yr` gi 11 I PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL / 11,1111 IN OTHER THAN PAPER COPY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY 11111,11 s a j.Shot rran II 11,'1,11 -rwerriv Cadtx,11§,Ar ! l TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES " INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) I ._ 11I -10:01 BEST COPY AVAIABLE':- Inttirrtrit 2 -- BILAIJNu .AWAYUTUREOf {ssays in Memory of aTI{S Robert {. Wagner, Jr. JULIA VITULLO-HARTIN Breaking Away: The Future of Cities exploresthe problemsfacingcities, sharpening understanding of the complex- ides of big city life and government and offering new ideas and solutions for alleviating them. Americans have always had a love-hate relationship with urban life. Today, while acknowledging cities as centers of industry, commerce, and culture, many also disdain them as magnets for crime and poverty. The remarkable group of people who have written the essays collected in this volume have all been involved in formu- lating practical solutions to urban ills. They came together in memory of F obert F. Wagner, Jr., the widely admired former deputy mayor of New York City, a scion of the Wagner political family that helped define democratic liberalism in America for three generations. Robert Wagner, Jr.'s untimely death ended his work on what was to be a book about urban America. Here, Julia Vitullo-Martin, who was to have been Wagner's co-author, gathers together his former colleagues and friends in the a BREAKING AWAY MEET... Bob Wanet Jif , i" r ".1 -A 111111 MCIDATE FCC COUCLIVI AT Oirf BREAKING AWAYNE MORE Of Fssays in Memory of (111[S Robert {. Wagner, Jr. JULIA VITULLO- MARTIN A TWENTIETHCENTURY FUND BOOK New York 1996 The Twentieth Centuryfund Press The Twentieth Century Fund sponsors andsupervises timely analyses of economic policy, foreignaffirs, and domestic political for-profit and nonpartisan, issues. Not- the Fund was founded in1919 and endowed by Edward A. Filene. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURYFUND Morris B. Abram. Emeritus Lewis B. Kaden H. Brandt Ayers James A. Leach Peter A. A. Berle R.chard C. Leone, ex officio Alan Brinkley P. Michael Pitfield José A. Cabranes Richard Ravitch Joseph A. Califano. Jr. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.,Emeritus Alexander Morgan Capron Harvey I. Sloane. M.D. Nodding Carter III Theodore C. Sorenson.Chairman Edward E. David. Jr., Emeritus James Tobin, Emeritus Brewster C. Denny. Emeritus David B. Truman, Emeritus Charles V. Hamilton Shirley Williams August Heckscher, Emeritus William Julius Wilson Matina S. Horner Richard C. Leone, President Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Breaking away : the future of cities : (2ssays in memory of Robert F. Wagner Jr./ edited by Julia Vitullo-Martin. p. cm. "A Twentieth Century Fundbook." Includes bibliographical referencesand index. ISBN 0-87078-379-3 0-87078-386-6 (pbk) 1. Urban policy-United States. 2. Cities and towns-UnitedStates. 3. Wagner, Robert F. (RobertFerdinand!, 1944-1_993. I. Wagner. Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1944-193.3.II. Vitullo-Martin, Julia. 1946- H-1123.873 1995 95-39950 307.760973-dc20 CIP Cover Design and Illustration:Claude Goodwin Manufactured in the United Statesof America. Copyright (--) 1996 by the Twentieth Century Fund, Inc. All rightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recoroing, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Twentieth Century Fund,Inc. Fol:EWORD In 1993, the TwentiethCentury Fund contracted with Julia Vitullo- Martin and Robert F. Wagner, Jr., towrite a book about urban affairs. At a time of widespread despairabout the condition of America's cities, they promised an essentiallyoptimistic volume. They saw their mission as scouringthe country to discover the most effec- tive and perhaps innovative solutionsto the chronic problems facing big cities. They made a good case thatsuch successea were taking place all across the nation. They were on afield trip to San Antonio, as part of the research for this book,when Mr. Wagner unexpectedly became ill and died. Bobby Wagner's circle of friends wasremarkable. 411 the more so because despite theprominence of his family ties and public career. his friends were overwhelmingly personal,not mere political allies or well-connected New Yorkers. They were and arepeople who were close to Bobby because theybelieved in his essential grace,sincerity, intelligence, and good intentions. They arealso a remarkably thoughtful and knowledgeable group, especiallywhen it comes to issues con- cerning America's large cities. Thus, it made good sense to ask someof them to collaborate on a book that would encompass manyof the issues that he and Julia Vitullo-Martin were planning to address.The group of authors who have written the essays that follow is nothomogeneous; their views cut across the political spectrum.In this, however, they somewhat'reflect the development over the pastdecade of Bobby Wagner's eclectic views about major public questions. There are sixteen contributors to thevolume, and their work ranges across the landscapeof urban issues. Julia Vitullo-Martinhas contributed the first chapter and a later essayon housing, as well as editing the overall work. Dick Netzermarshals facts that suggest a recasting of the conventional wisdomabout the economic function vi BIZrAKINGAWAY and recent economic history of major cities.Joseph Fernandez and Robert Kiley use their own dramatic experiencesin senior 'osts in New York City to illustrate the challengeand promise of reforming basic services. Paul Goldberger and NathanLeventhal suggest ways in which the Big Apple is special and thereasons that it is likely to continue be so. Along the way, Peter C. Goldmark, Jr., StanleyBrezenoff, Roger Cohen, and William J. Dean add material thatanchors the book in the particular place that Bobby Wagner and his specialcauses played in the life of the city over the past three decades. Andthis look at our cities is rounded out by the views of Diane Ravitch,J. Phillip Thompson, Ester Fuchs, Christopher Stone, Donna Shalela, and Ellen Chesler, author of Woman of Valor, a Twentieth CenturyFund fellow, and one of the people who shaped this volume. None of the authors, of course, argue thatwhat they say on a given topic is precisely what the original coauthorswould have said. But they can. in all fairness, claim to have served theoverall purpose of the assignment taken on by Wagner and Vitullo-Martin:opening up the conversation about urban problems tonew ideas and new solutions. It is the authors intent that this volume offerhope, chart