obama's office of urban policy

political buzz, via members of his transition team, has it that Obama will fulfill his promise to create an Office of Urban Policy when he hits the presidency. Political Punch quotes one of his speeches:

"Yes, we need to fight poverty," he said. "Yes, we need to fight crime. Yes, we need to strengthen our cities. But we also need to stop seeing our cities as the problem and start seeing them as the solution. Because strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, and strong regions are essential for a strong America."

Wow. Has someone been reading St. JJ?

Four Story breaks down Obama's election promises to The City.

• A focus on improving the liveability of cities;
• Increasing funds in metropolitan regions through better financial coordination and providing an urban green work sector;
• (and my personal favorite) A focus on the development and investment of affordable housing for everyone.

The only thing that would make our first trans-national and multiracial president more perfect would be a background in cartography.