Urban Politics and Policy

Urban Politics and Policy Series

Committed to educating the community about policies that can enhance their lives, The Riley Institute investigates the politics of urban America through its Urban Politics and Policy Series.

Since the early 1960s, significant economic and demographic changes have had a remarkable impact on the political and spatial contexts of American cities, towns and suburban areas. In many locations across America, and especially in the “sunbelt,” sprawling urban and suburban complexes occupying hundreds of miles of the American landscape have taken the place of small towns and farming areas. Many believe that the quality of life in these mega-cities and the suburbs that surround them has diminished and that civic participation and responsibility have suffered as a result.

Speakers in the series have included Vince Graham, the nationally acclaimed developer of “smart growth,” urban traditional communities in the low country of South Carolina; Dan Burden, the foremost authority on “walkable cities;” and Joe Riley, the architect of the rebirth of Charleston, South Carolina.

Be sure to check our calendar for upcoming events.