What lies in the heart of an Urban soul?

Some one asked me today about our move to Milwaukee. Regular readers know my standard reply about moving to Milwaukee because I can't afford Manhattan. If you've read my recent account of our annual trip to New York, I submit that at heart I'm an New Yorker in exile. But that ignores the fact that I have never lived in NYC, my enduring love for Chicago, a rough and tumble Midwestern city, my suspicion of LA, a collection of suburbs, and my new found affection for Louisville, with its southern charm and culture.

I love cities because they are alive. They thrive on a speed cocktail of culture, history and big dreams realized. In any city worth it's salt you'll find the remnants of better days gone bad and the revival and recovery from the slump. My own city of Milwaukee has taken years to shake the "rust belt" label and in all honesty isn't 100% there yet. The rebuilding of Times Square and the financial rescue of New York is an epic tale. Cleveland, Philadelphia, St Louis and other Midwestern cities have pulled themselves up from bad times. Detroit and Gary haven't made it yet. That this rejuvenation is taking place in Northern Cities that had been written off, is of special enjoyment of those of us who finally realize that the South is still fighting the Civil War and feel foolish for not realizing it earlier.

Cities are where young people go to realize their dreams and where others return to find them again. Cities are where the social contract is tested, reshaped and refined. Cities are where the culture is nurtured and allowed to grow. It's where our music is written, our books are born and our art is created. Cities force us to confront "those "people and find out about our prejudices. Cities are where we come together, like it or not.

There is a lot wrong with America's cities. Part of what is wrong is the myth that life is better in the suburbs. This draws many people out of the cosmopolitan and into the confines of provincialism. Many of these suburban dwellers wake up to a new world when their children are out of the nest and they find the culture of family no longer welcomes them. Like a divorcee at a cocktail party, they are quickly relegated to the edges. They are coming back to the city in droves. And with them, thankfully, are those young families who aren't buying the suburban myth of serenity and bliss. Many of these couples are products of a suburban upbringing and recognize the bland and narrow lifestyle.

Politically, particularly with the rise of conservatism, cities have been the equivalent of an ethnic joke. The premise being that everything that's wrong with American society seems to emanate from cities. this bias has cost major American Cities clout and leverage. They have had to rely pretty much on their own resources to push forward and pull themselves up at the same times. Evidently we can bail out failed American corporations and the Savings and Loan Industry, but we loath to help cities improve their infrastructure. When the local team is the heat of the battle for a national championship, we love them for all their worth, but don't ask anyone outside of the local area to help build a new facility.

In the Milwaukee area the news stations and papers pander to the suburban rich by constantly parading all of the violent crime they can into their venues. Granted there is enough to report, but never is there anything written or spoken about as to what we as the metro community can do to turn things around. No, it's The Cities problem and we have to deal with it. And then they do everything they can to make sure "those "people don't move into their communities. Even if those people are filling the badly needed service jobs these communities need to support their life styles.

What is exported to the suburbs is wealthy and educated group of people who feel that the constant struggle to revitalize and recreate a city is not their job. What is equally true is that this same group of people will brag about how close they are to the city so they can take advantage of the cultural events and other advantages the city affords. It is true, that the further away you are from home the closer you live to a major city. If asked in California where someone lives, the answer will be Milwaukee, because no one outside of Wisconsin knows where Waukesha, Mequon or Oconomowac are.