Urbānitūs

Urbānitūs is a fast-evolving media project. It grew from a set of discussions in mid-2019 among a small group of the curious and concerned about the state of the world and the emerging role of newly global cities -- particularly the one in which we all live, Austin, Texas. The upshot of that ongoing conversation was the concept of ‘geo-urbanism,’ a term we invented to frame the mission we set for ourselves. That mission is to understand and describe how and why cities are affected as never before by global events. At least as importantly, that mission is also to understand and describe how cities are becoming geo-political actors in their own right on the global stage as never before. As the old saying goes, “all politics is local.” We certainly believe that is still the case. But now, the local drives the global as never before. The national – not just in the United States but worldwide – is in perpetual crisis. National actors are awkwardly caught in between. For the dynamism, innovation and drivers of change are all local and their effects are broadly global. Austin is the fastest growing city in the United States. It sits at the center of the emerging new Dallas-Houston-San Antonio urban triangle that is the fastest transforming mega-region of North America - culturally, demographically, politically and economically. We are beset, meanwhile, with some of America’s and the world’s most daunting challenges of climate change, migration, urban displacement, refugee relocation, water scarcity, homelessness and education systems strained to the breaking point. These are just a few of the global challenges that can only be effectively responded to with local action. Welcome. Take a look. And send us a note or two. Let’s all help one another learn about what Austin and other cities are doing in the new age of geo-urbanism. And please watch this space.