Aligning private development with community needs for equity and resiliency is one of the most powerful roles of city government.
Michelle WuRead
During natural disasters or emergencies, the most resilient communities - places that suffer the fewest casualties and rebuild more quickly - are not the wealthiest neighborhoods or ones that have spent the most on physical infrastructure, but rather the communities with the strongest social infrastructure.
Interpretation
Stronger social ties within a community lead to better resilience during crises than wealth or infrastructure.
This quote emphasizes the importance of social connections and support systems in a community's ability to withstand and recover from natural disasters or emergencies. It suggests that the strength of relationships and collective resources among community members can be more vital for resilience than material wealth or physical resources, highlighting the value of social infrastructure in times of crisis.
In practice
During a town hall meeting discussing emergency preparedness.
Aligning private development with community needs for equity and resiliency is one of the most powerful roles of city government.
We can build wealth in all our communities, value public education, plan for our neighborhoods, invest in housing we can afford and transportation that serves everyone, truly fund public health for safety and healing, and deliver on a city Green New Deal for clean air and water, healthy homes, and the brightest future for our children.
When I first ran for City Council in 2013, I was told over and over again that I would likely lose, and for reasons beyond my control: I was too young, not born in Boston, Asian American, female.
Free public transportation is the single biggest step we could take toward economic mobility, racial equity, and climate justice.
I think if we're going to be serious as a city, as a country, about addressing climate change, addressing inequality and racial disparities, we have to start taking action at the scale that matches the urgency of the problems.
Growing up, I never ever thought that I would or could or should be involved in politics. I didn't see anyone who looked like me in spaces of power.
Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers.
People rescue each other. They build shelters and community kitchens and ways to deal with lost children and eventually rebuild one way or another.
We need a new kind of citizenship, so that we can see citizens as themselves earning the rank of patriot because of their involvement in their community affairs....We as a society need to be encouraging people to focus not just on individual wants but on serving the larger community.
We figured out as a community of gay people, we have to take care of our own.
Frequent worshippers are also significantly more active citizens. They are more likely to belong to community organizations, especially those concerned with young people, health, arts and leisure, neighborhood and civic groups and professional associations.
One of the pleasant things about small town life is that everyone, whether rich or poor, liked or disliked, has some kind of a role and place in the community. I never felt that living in a city - as I once did for a couple of years.
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