Book excerpt: The future of America is the future of our cities. Restoring their health and wealth is the key to advancing racial justice, to raising and equalizing wages, to promoting equal opportunity, to saving our environment....I urge you to read and consider Metro Futures.--The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., from the Foreword Metro Futures shifts the discussion of urban issues from despair over inner-city problems to solutions that link urban and suburban well-being. With its specific state and federal policy recommendations, Metro Futures offers timely hope for meaningful change. "The New Democracy Forum series is a civic treasure....A truly good idea, carried out with intelligence and panache."--Robert Pinsky The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns.