Nothing started or ended on November 5. Elections are part of cycles, and there is a bigger linear arc to history that we—and the places we call home—are all a part of. There is a role for all of us in bending that arc toward more just outcomes for people and places, whether that means ensuring more people have access to shelter each night or the jobs and supports needed to reach prosperity.
The radical energy of placemaking is that the authority to catalyze change comes not from credentials, but rather from proximity, lived experience, and a deep commitment to place. Placemaking knows no party, but most importantly, placemaking comes from a place of love—a combination of affection and respect that we believe precedes other aspects of expertise or power. Let these insights illuminate the long nights of winter and guide us in continued engagement with the future.
In this post-election compendium, Brookings Metro scholars share their perspectives, projections, and recommendations for how to strengthen the future of cities and regions as the nation approaches a second Trump administration. Tracy Loh and Hanna Love emphasize the expanded importance of local and state governance in this new future—both in catalyzing local investment for community-led revitalization and in driving smart, effective, and equitable public safety policies.
Elevating the voices of people with lived experience in homelessness—particularly youth who have experienced housing insecurity—is essential to building effective, sustainable, and equitable policies and decisionmaking pathways to reduce homelessness and advance shared prosperity. In a new Placemaking Postcard, Lee Waldman, co-founder and chair of the Ithaca Youth Action Board, shares how youth are directly informing homelessness policies in Tompkins County, N.Y. by guiding the implementation of a $2 million grant.
Civil Rights Corps, 1601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Seventh Floor
Washington, D.C.
For decades, social capital has been declining in America, and the effects are becoming all too clear for communities, cities, and the state of democracy. Hanna Love will moderate an expert panel discussing how economic, social, and community-based solutions can address these forces while building a new economy rooted in fairness, dignity, and community cohesion.
The event, hosted by the Futures Institute, will feature excerpts from the documentary “Join or Die,” and panel discussions featuring Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Rebecca and Pete Davis (co-directors of “Join or Die”), Thea Sebastian (executive director, The Futures Institute), Jake Harriman (More Perfect Union), Taylor Jo Isenberg (executive director, Economic Security Project), and Xavier de Souza Briggs (senior fellow, Brookings Metro).
