In a Topsy-Turvy World, Local Rules

FOR ALMOST FIVE YEARS I SAT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, becoming increasingly aware that the more we discussed policies and procedures, the more removed we were becoming from those average places where people live. It was an occupational hazard: the farther a politician is away from those he or she represents, the greater the challenge to stay pertinent, aware, and connected. As the years pass, this very reality of political distance is quickly rendering senior levels of government more detached and irrelevant than any other time in memory.But the opposite is also true: cities, where political representatives live among those they are sworn to serve, are increasingly becoming the arena for “in touch” democracy. As author Alexander McCall Smith presciently put it:

“We have moral obligations to those who we come up against, who enter into our moral space, so to speak. That means neighbours, people we deal with, and who occupy a common place."

That’s part of the beauty of cities – they are naturally networked, as opposed to the more artificial dealings of senior governments. In fact, each city is uniquely defined by such networks. They are supremely relational, within earshot of all citizens, and constantly having to manage those intersections where inhabitants encounter one another. It can be frustrating at times like rush hour, but the ability to get the word out, to float an idea, start a business, or bring people together in celebration, is unique to communities and largely out-of-reach from provincial or federal capitals.Moreover, cities inevitably have much more in common with one another than with any other level of government. They share similar challenges and usually suffer from the same sense of remoteness that is the fate of all cities situated in a broader country. Provinces and countries naturally have borders; cities instead have channels to one another. People pass easily through cities with little to hinder them. As they witness each senior level in serious combat with their competitors, those journeying through cities sense no such artificial barriers.All of this makes the office of mayor so much more loaded with potential and innovative possibilities the other levels of politics. Citizens are growing in their understanding of what it all could mean. As Obama strategist, David Axelrod, put it: “I think people desperately want leaders who will make cities work, and they take them in whatever shapes, sizes, and colours they come it, provided they bring their cities together.”The future of politics – its legitimacy and effectiveness - now rests on the fate of cities. As municipalities rise in importance in the political firmament, it stands to reason that the political leaders of those communities, and by extension those who elected them, have much more at stake concerning the future and hope of democracy than they might realize. The political world is about to turn topsy-turvy and effective change is often accomplished in such times, especially if rooted in the ideals and everyday desires of average citizens. The political future belongs, even in an age of globalization, to that which is near, not far.