About this episode

Stephen Goldsmith discusses the importance of grassroots decision-making in local governance.

When Republican Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indianapolis, IN, he ran his city by "devolving" decisions down to the grassroots level. He created partnerships with the movers and shakers of local areas – community-based organizations, small businesses, faith leaders — to decide together how best to spend money in their neighborhoods. "Government had neglected those neighborhoods," he told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And no amount of expenditures would have been sufficient if we couldn't lift up the civic infrastructure of the neighborhoods themselves." This, said Goldsmith, who was a deputy mayor under Mike Bloomberg in New York and is now a professor of urban policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School, is the true power of mayors: the ability to convene and inspire a city to greatness. Despite the circus coming from Washington, D.C., Goldsmith told our hosts that he has great hope for cities. "This is the time to be mayor, because if you want to lead, you can really make a difference." Goldsmith also garnered some unexpected praise from our hosts. "I was struck by your book, Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kasim Reed, Michael Nutter

Guest: Stephen Goldsmith

Topics covered

• local governance
• community engagement
• mayoral leadership
• urban policy
• grassroots citizenship

Keywords

• mayor
• Indianapolis
• community-based organizations
• civic infrastructure
• urban policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard University's Kennedy School, The Philadelphia Citizen

Books & works: Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work through Grassroots Citizenship

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