to: Town Council
from: Mayor Kevin C. Foy
subject: Office of Urban Planning
date: February 9, 2009
The purpose of this report is to provide information to the Council regarding President Obama’s Office of Urban Planning Office.
President Obama and Vice President Biden will create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan areas throughout American and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest impact programs. The Director of Urban Policy will report directly to the President and coordinate all federal urban programs.
This new office represents an exciting opportunity for the Triangle metropolitan area and for Chapel Hill. On the White House website outlining President Obama’s urban policy agenda President Obama specifically mentions the North Carolina Research Triangle as an example of how local stakeholders can successfully come together to help reshape their local economies. President Obama proposes to create a federal program to support “innovation clusters” – regional center of innovation and next-generation industries. The innovation program is proposing to provide $200 million in planning and matching grants for regional business, government, and university leaders to collaborate on leveraging a region’s existing assets –from transportation infrastructure to universities – to enhance long-term regional growth.
There is no doubt that this new Office will be tremendously important in directly addressing the needs of our urban areas throughout the country. However, I believe that in order for this Office to be successful they will need the ability to reach out to communities across the country and therefore a permanent advisory group be created.
A broad and diverse advisory group could assist this office’s efforts to identifying common challenges that face our regions significant urban population. There is a wealth of expertise and experience among local government officials and administrators, urban planner, academic and research professionals, and community activists engaged in trying to identify solutions to these challenges.
Over the past thirty years local government has had to fend for itself due to programming and funding cuts from the federal government. This has paid its toll on our community and communities nationwide and this new office along with a permanent advisory group is an important step in the right direction back to creating a stronger federal-local partnership.
That the Council adopt the attached resolution requesting that the proposed Office of Urban Policy in President Obama’s administration form a permanent advisory group to help guide that office in its efforts to provide assistance to our nation’s urban areas.