WHOUP There the Stimulus Is

by: Drum Major Institute

Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:30

The selection of Adolfo Carrion, Bronx Borough President, to lead The White House Office of Urban Policy (WHOUP) is particularly important as the federal government unleashes the $787 billion economic stimulus package President Obama signed into law on Tuesday. The effectiveness of the stimulus package depends on the ability of federal officials to select among a range of public works projects identified by mayors and other metro officials according to these criteria: the speed with which they can be undertaken; the type, availability, and location of the workers they require; and their short-term and long-term economic effects. WHOUP must coordinate the federal government’s communication with officials at the city and metro level where most of these stimulus projects will be executed in the coming months.

Obama’s cities chief will have the opportunity to show the country that urban policy is uniquely about smart investment, careful planning, and effective policy design rather than wasteful spending on unnecessary projects—that it’s about harnessing the resources concentrated in metro areas, where a vast majority of Americans live, by maximizing present value and extracting future potential.

Beyond the stimulus package, WHOUP can help the nation confront the many challenges of the current economic crisis by championing federal policies specifically designed to stimulate urban prosperity, since cities have long been engines of national economic growth, productivity, and job creation.

Improving the relationship between city and federal officials must remain a constant priority of the Obama administration as urban areas continue to play an outsize role in both short-term and long-term economic recovery. The creation of WHOUP signals a federal commitment to urban areas not seen since the Carter Administration. While the federal government has largely ignored cities in recent years, urban areas and metros have become laboratories of innovative policymaking. During the 2008 presidential election, The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy highlighted this innovation through Mayor TV, a video reporting project that featured exclusive interviews with mayors around the country who argued for a bold, ambitious federal urban agenda—exactly what WHOUP will hopefully now deliver.