Trump’s presidential victory is a soul-searching event for progressive politics. This includes Minneapolis. Yet the lessons learned from his win may not be the ones that will make progressive politics any more viable or likeable by a majority of the voters.
For many on the left the lesson of the 2024 elections was that the Democrats moved too far to the right when they should have veered left. Moreover, it is a time to give up on national politics, focusing instead on a left agenda at the local municipal level. The result may be a knee jerk reaction to the left to counter the knee jerk reaction to the right at the national level.
The day after the election, my students commiserated and lamented on Harris’s loss and on the futility of left-leaning national politics. They too said that the need was to go left locally, including on issues such as police reform, zoning, discrimination, and redistribution issues. They turned to me for my thoughts. They asked: “What does a progressive local agenda look like, and what is the realm of possibility for it?
How did I answer them? I said:
Progressive local politics is when police work with citizens in the community to keep people and streets safe. It is when the fire department shows up and puts out the fire. It is when water and sewer service guarantee that when you turn on the tap, it is potable, safe drinking water, and that when you flush the toilet, it does so in a sanitary and environmental way.
It is about the streets being plowed. The sidewalks are safe. Garbage is picked up. There are decent and safe parks, quality schools, and fair and competitive elections where all voices are heard not squelched.
And all the above this would be true for all, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or preference. It would be true for all the matter where you live in the city, and it would be a city where concentrated poverty is a thing of the past.
It would be a city that provides a wide range of housing options—single family, apartments, condominiums, townhouses, for people in all stages of their life, all stages of their need, and for all types of income and preferences.
It is a city with a decent quality of life, with libraries, museums, and other amenities available for all. It is where businesses grow and flourish and support and maintain a tax base that makes all the above possible. It may include more, but I said that a progressive local agenda was about the quality of life and making it possible to have affordable city services for all.
It is where, invoking Jane Jacobs, the finest mind on city politics in the last one-hundred years, cities are generators of complexity and innovation. They are not unidimensional, representing only one viewpoint or performing a singular function. Cities thrive when they are engines of diversity, serving multiple needs and desires of multiple people. A progressive local agenda is first doing what cities are supposed to do and doing it for all.
When I was finished, the students said that this agenda sounded boring and not necessarily progressive. I responded and said that imagine a life without all the above. Providing all the above services is the essence of what local government is about. It is also the core of progressive politics—serving the basic needs of all people.
Local government is not supposed to be about Democrat, Republican, Greens, Socialists, Independents, or any other political persuasion. What happens at the local level has a far greater impact on our lives than what happens in Washington, DC. What the 2024 elections was about was that people wanted the basics. They wanted to feel safe and secure. They wanted a decent quality of life for their children in schools that delivered for them. What we saw across the country, regardless of race and class, was that people wanted better government, a government that addressed their basic needs.
The lesson of the 2024 elections at the local level should be that a city is its people, all of them. Serve them. This is what progressive local politics is about. I have said this for forty years across all my ranges of experiences. This is what cities such as Minneapolis should stand and strive for.
Thank you. I was unfamiliar with Jane Jacobs so I asked AI. Here is what Gemini said:
Jane Jacobs, a renowned urban theorist and activist, made significant contributions to our understanding of well-functioning cities, the influence of politics, and the role of citizens in effective local governance. Her groundbreaking book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” challenged conventional urban planning theories and advocated for a more people-centered approach to city design.
Jacobs emphasized the importance of diverse land use, mixed-use neighborhoods, and vibrant street life in creating safe, thriving communities. She argued that top-down, large-scale urban renewal projects often destroyed the social fabric of neighborhoods and displaced residents. Instead, she promoted bottom-up, community-driven approaches that empowered residents to shape their own environments.
Jacobs’ work also highlighted the political dimensions of urban planning. She exposed how powerful interests, such as real estate developers and politicians, often prioritized economic development and efficiency over the needs of residents. She advocated for greater transparency and accountability in decision-making processes and encouraged citizens to actively participate in shaping their neighborhoods.
Through her activism and writings, Jacobs inspired a generation of urban planners, activists, and citizens to fight for more livable cities. Her ideas continue to influence urban development policies and practices around the world, emphasizing the importance of human-scale design, community engagement, and democratic governance.