Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
See, now we might as well name them all--which is fine, they are wonderful cities:
Seattle, SF, Washington DC, Philadelphia, there we go.
There's that midwestern modesty that serves us so well... Don't stick your neck out, don't exaggerate just a little bit, don't stretch the truth just a little bit....
I think you guys are missing my point by a tad. No place became great by sitting there telling the cold, hard, sober truth all of the time--especially not Chicago. It wouldn't be the end of the world to bring some of that bravado back, at least if we're on the topic of marketing the city, which is what we were discussing.
It's okay to brag. Not the end of the world. Just saying....
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The difference between that Chicago confidence of old ("make no small plans") and simply conjuring up false bravado in 2019 ("greatest city ever!") is that in the past, Chicago was doing huge things not seen anywhere else. Birth of the skyscraper, crossroads of America, and the hub of American transportation and industry. Chicago truly was one of a kind in North America and the world. It was on par with New York, albeit smaller, in that it was a true cultural and innovation hub. There was no LA, no Atlanta, no Houston, no San Francisco. even in the same realm.
Now it's just silly, and transparently so, to claim Chicago is THE BEST IN THE WORLD (or country, as it were). It's not impossible to get back to that status, but provincial thinking over the decades allowed these other cities to catch up to, and in some areas surpass, Chicago. If the “marketing” plan is to con some small town folks with false bravado vs. actually making big gains in art, architecture, urban infrastructure, etc. to back up the confidence, count me out. Chicago has the foundation and history other cities dream about, we need to actually use it.
Rahm saw that to get the city back to being top tier urban leader, investments had to be made in public transit, public art, and urban design. My hope is that Lightfoot can continue that legacy while tackling some of the neighborhood issues that have plagued Chicago's image over the past 10+ years.
Once the neighborhoods are safe enough to match our downtown's beauty, it's time to start pushing Chicago in film, television, music, art worlds to attract people who otherwise think New York and Los Angeles are the only real cities in the US.