A city for everyone

Sacramento city officials, developers, and tastemakers are still trying to cram an idea in our ears: “World-Class City.”

They love this term. It’s the barometer by which we are judged, with the implication being that we as a city fall below the bar. “World-Class City” as an objective means this: what you are now is unlike the best places to live in the world; we will make Sacramento like everywhere else.

The people who currently offer these ideas of a world-class Sacramento are not visionaries. So-called world class ideas are still code for the same thing: M-O-N-E-Y.

For example, during her mayoral campaign run Angelique Ashby was a guest on the local podcast Serious Talk Seriously. On it, she shared an anecdote about a visit to Seattle to gather homeless initiative intel. Her story devolved into a criticism of Sac city officials as wide-eyed worshipers of Seattle’s restaurants and lifestyle, quick to depict Sacramento as lesser. It all had very little to do with addressing homelessness.

This attitude resonates through the “big ideas” on the table for Sacramento 3.0. Each suggestion requires comparison: “A Walk of Stars—like Hollywood.” “A Jeff Koons outside the arena—like the Met.” “More high-rise housing downtown—like Austin.”

Worse yet, big ideas also come with even bigger entitlements and subsidies.

Excuse Amazon from $1.75 million in developer fees for a distribution center. Excuse Yamanee of developer fees required to build in Midtown and turn those fees into a $162,000 “endowment” for a vague “downtown activities” fund.

World-class cities pass revolutionary reform. World-class cities don’t imitate, they innovate. Identities are not cherry-picked from greener grass. Identities are inherent.

What if Sacramento considered the “world” in “world-class city” instead of emphasizing a perception of class, of status? You know, world class like the Dalai Llama, not perception of status like Kardashianism.

What if we led the world in taking care of all income classes, refugees and immigrants? We love to tote our “most diversity” label as an indicator of our progressiveness, so then let’s take in refugees. Come here, bring your people and diversify our neighborhoods.

Listen to people here, right now. The homeless only want the decriminalization of a basic human need. Watch the Facebook video (http://tinyurl.com/j2z8owc) of an Oak Park man named Victor asking why his black body makes people concerned when he wants to attend a meeting in his neighborhood.

Victor doesn’t need a two-hour presentations parading hope for a federal grant. Victor needs to know that if that grant is awarded, that city’s transformation will include him.