The Avenue. Why cities matter in an age of accelerations

“If you want to be an optimist, stand on your head. The world looks a lot better from the bottom up than it does from the top down.”

In that phrase, said at a recent Brookings event, Tom Friedman succinctly captures the nature of American democracy and governance in the 21st century. As Friedman and I discussed, and as he details in his latest book, Thank You for Being Late – we are living in an age of accelerations: Massive shifts in technology, globalization, and climate change are fundamentally reshaping our politics, our workplaces, our communities, and our ethics. Success in this age, Friedman argues, depends on our ability to adapt.