Oct 5, 2022
S1E24. Michelle Wilde Anderson on America's Cities
On this episode of Free Range, Mike Livermore speaks with Michelle Wilde Anderson, a law professor at Stanford. Anderson is the author of The Fight To Save The Town: Reimagining Discarded America, published in June 2022.
Anderson begins by explaining the subtitle of the book, which draws attention to places that have both high poverty and few governmental resources, challenges that tend to be mutually reinforcing. Anderson discusses the reasons she chose the four places that the book focuses on: they’re exceptional places in terms of rich histories and good leadership, they contribute to a larger story when studied together because of their highlighted differences, and they represent the larger range of towns facing the problem of being poor and broke. (1:17 - 5:28)
Livermore asks Anderson, why she decided to focus on narratives rather than data and policy solutions. Anderson explains that the dominant stories that we tell about these places typically include violence, corruption, and hopelessness. These narratives are destructive to the political will to keep working on these hard problems. She wanted to acknowledge that the hardships are devastating and real, but there are also extraordinary people working on these problems and we can’t wish these places away. (5:29 - 9:40)
Anderson highlights a common way of thinking which she considers the “suitcases solution,” which encourages individuals to move towards growth and jobs to solve chronic poverty. Anderson argues that this has been a failed approach. Ideally, people would have options: to move on to opportunity, or to stay where they are without being trapped in intergenerational poverty.
A major challenge in many of these places is trust. This is especially destructive because poverty requires communities to come together. This is where the other part of the title of the book comes in, The Fight To Save The Town; it highlights how people can weave society back together and rebuild this basic trust.. (9:41 - 24:59)
A problem with the suitcase solution is that people end up unable to move because they lack resources or become traumatized before that becomes a possibility. The experiment of addressing deindustrialization through domestic migration has been tried for the past 40 years and doesn’t work. (25:00 - 34:16) Livermore and Anderson highlight the importance of a town building the foundation for people to participate in the labor market. (34:17 - 41:25)
Livermore asks Anderson about the redevelopment approach in contrast with investing in current residents. Anderson mentions that local public policy is often focused on downtown redevelopment. Anderson encourages pushing aside those kinds of interventions and investing in the people of the town. (41:26 - 49:58)
In regards to these different towns, Livermore asks: Are there broader lessons or general principles that can be implemented in a more systematic way? Anderson responds that she is not confident in a playbook for this resident-centered government or that it even exists.People who work on the frontline of the challenges rarely believe that it is possible to export their model to another town. Anderson emphasizes the importance of mutual aid, social repair, and social cooperation as a universal component of both progress and hope. (49:59 - 56:27)
To conclude, Livermore inquires about Anderson's thoughts on the relationship between problems of the contemporary era and labor history in the United States. Anderson responds by noting that there are few periods in our history where we have had an explicit language to discuss poverty and a focus on empowerment, solidarity, and progress. The Labor Movement is one example of this language and leadership in writing. She claims that she is drawn to these individuals who discuss poverty as a source of strength and solidarity and who believe in the power of people. (56:28 - 1:00:47)