Cities in the age of Trump and Brexit

The results of this past month’s U.S. presidential election and June’s Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom mark a growing global trend of nationalism and populist fervor. Cities, despite being the potential victims of rollbacks of government investment and international engagement, have emerged as the continuing centers of ground-up economic, environmental, and social progress.

Indeed, U.S. and European cities have proven they are not only the engines of national economies, but also are on the front lines of solving the complex challenges of our time. Whether in educating our children, improving the quality of our infrastructure, building vibrant public spaces, or mitigating the effects of climate change, many of the most effective recent interventions have come from the local level.

On Friday, December 9, Bruce Katz hosted a discussion with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and British Member of Parliament Tristram Hunt focused on this new nationalism–versus–localism dynamic and how cities can engage local stakeholders across the political spectrum to get things done.

After the discussion, Mayor Emanuel and MP Hunt took questions from the in-person and webcast audience. Join the conversation on Twitter via #metrorev.