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Builders of Great Cities We Must All Be – A Tribute to a Mayor and his Involved Citizenry [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-02-12

We hear a constant stream of claims of urban decay and crime from right-wing media. But I would like to tell a different story today.

I live in a medium-sized, southern coastal city which has become one of the premier tourist cities in the world. In 2023, readers of Travel + Leisure have ranked the city as the "Best City in the U.S.” to visit for the 11th consecutive year,

This city was mostly poor and dilapidated following the Civil War but slowly renewed itself based on its blend of large antebellum houses, its walk-ability, and its surrounding waterways all of which gave it a unique look and feel.

But what was crucial to its recovery was the management by the city’s mayor who together with a dedicated group of citizens worked to continuously improve it. The mayor’s philosophy was nothing should ever be built by government that is not beautiful. Beyond that, he made a commitment to building public spaces where citizens could share in the beauty of the city and come together. Thus, new public parks were added as older ones were upgraded.

This diary is more about the spirit of this mayor and the citizens who supported and participated in the city’s transformation rather than speaking about the individual mayor or city population.

And unsurprisingly, the mayor was a Democrat who strongly believed in stewardship and promoting the public good.

It took decades to accomplish this renewal, and the mayor remained in office for more than 40 years. The city’s transformation speaks for itself. When rural and small town people repeat stories about the moral decline and danger of cities, here is one counter-example.

What follows is the Mayor’s 1991 Waterfront Park dedication which is carved in granite beside one of the park’s walkways. It pretty much says all the above but in what I consider to be a more inspirational fashion:

Builders of great cities we must all be. And we must build with great care and beauty. For the lasting mark of civilization is the city. It is evidence of what we were, reflective of our stewardship of the land we inherited, and our gift to those who follow us. And it is in the public realm of our cities that we must work with special care – the places where our citizens come together, the spaces each person can call their own, our streets and alleys, our sidewalks and public buildings, our downtowns, but especially our parks.

Parks give oxygen to the city and so much more. They make our cities beautiful, soften the hard edges of urban life, invigorate us and give us peace and repose. No city has too many parks, and the best have the most and most beautiful.

And when the cities can combine the park with the exquisite water’s edge, then the public realm is greatly enhanced. Through the water, we bring the great beauty of nature to the city. The water – this harbor is an ever-changing work of art, the infinite combinations of water and reflection, strong winds and gentle breezes and currents, the golden rising sun and the red glow of a sunset, the light of the moon, and the sprinkle of the stars, boats and ships, storms, birds, and schooling fish.

Each hour is different, no day the same, ever changing and always beautiful. Through this park we give that beauty to all our citizens in their city.

This park will be blessed in a few moments, and we have already invoked God’s help and given thanks. Our prayer and our search for the meaning of life occur within us, within our houses of worship, and other places as well.

When confronted with the extraordinary beauty of nature as we do in places like this, our mind is in wonder at the handiwork of our creator, and we may try harder to understand and do his will. For many, this park becomes a cathedral of the stars, a chapel of the wind, a temple of the sun, and a church of the sky.

Tonight, we give this park to the ages, all the ages to come. And it is a personal gift, personally given and received. It is gift given by each of you, and all citizens of this city now. And it is a gift individually received each time it is used – tomorrow and for all time.

And we give this place most especially to those who need it most - to those, our brothers and sisters they will be, for whom the burdens of life and its passages are so difficult to bear – burdens of body, mind, station, and lack of means. They most need a place of restful beauty in a city as their helpful life companion.

It is to them and to all that we give this park to lift their spirit, to light the mind, to warm the heart, and touch the soul.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/12/2303287/-Builders-of-Great-Cities-We-Must-All-Be-A-Tribute-to-a-Mayor-and-his-Involved-Citizenry?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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