CLEVELAND, OH—Bruce Katz, vice president and director of Metropolitan Policy at The Brookings Institution, will present Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America’s Older Industrial Cities, a comprehensive economic study of the 65 U.S. cities lagging behind their peers (scheduled for national release on May 20), at noon on Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at The City Club of Cleveland. He will be joined by Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who will give a local response to the report.

On the whole, America’s central cities are coming back. Employment is up, populations are growing, and many urban real estate markets are hotter than ever, with increasing numbers of young people, empty-nesters, and others choosing city life over the suburbs.

Unfortunately, not all cities are fully participating in this renaissance. Most of these cities and their larger regions, including Cleveland, are older industrial communities that are still struggling to make a successful transition from an economy based on routine manufacturing to one based on more knowledge-oriented activities. Katz will describe the challenges facing these communities, the unprecedented opportunity that exists to leverage their many assets, and a policy agenda to advance their renewal
 

Katz is an expert in community reinvestment, demographic trends, economic development, government reform, housing, poverty, state and local policy, social policy, transportation reform, urban and metropolitan policy, urban and regional politics, and welfare reform. Prior to Brookings, he was chief of staff at HUD (1993-96), staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (1992-93), and senior counsel for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (1987-92).

Tickets for this City Club Special Program, sponsored by National City, are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.

Established in 1912 to encourage new ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club of Cleveland is the oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion. The City Club’s mission is to inform, educate and inspire citizens by presenting significant ideas and providing opportunities for dialogue in a collegial setting.

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