Mayors from across the nation are meeting this week to discuss unemployment and other economic issues hitting their respective cities. The United States Conference of Mayors, who is hosting the event, claims that nearly 80 of the country’s metro areas will not reach pre-recession levels of employment for at least five years. Mayor Steve Benjamin, an attendee of the conference, discusses his own struggles as mayor of Columbia, SC and the hardships other cities face presently in the United States.

In the 2009 movie "Up in the Air" Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, tells viewers that "all the things you probably hate about traveling are warm reminders that I am home." Bingham and his colleagues built their lives around air travel. "Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next," argues that the cities of the future must do the same.

Over 249 million Americans live on the three percent of land that constitutes our cities. More than half of America’s income is earned in 22 metropolitan areas. And people live longer in New York City than anywhere else in the U.S. That being said, our nation continues to grapple with negative perceptions about cities. Images of loud, dirty, noisy, graffiti and crime-ridden urban wastelands persist. Economist Ed Glaeser wants to change that. He’s convinced that cities make us better, and that the proof can be seen everywhere from Minneapolis to Shanghai.

There's hope that the U.S. can pull out of this economic slump it's in, but there's a potential disaster looming for states that could derail any economic recovery. Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst famed for predicting Citigroup's major debt fallout, made a new dire prediction.  She believes up to 100 U.S. cities could default on their municipal bonds. 

An index of Economic Adversity from Moody's Economy.com and msnbc.com has taken the economic pulse of 381 cities across the US. The good news: only one city is still spiraling further into recession. The bad news: as economic recovery moves slowly forward, understanding each community's singular struggles proves a complex task.

Cities in Australia and Canada top the list of the world's most liveable places, according to a new survey, with Vancouver at number one. One reason is these towns are less dense, with lower crime rates and less pressure on infrastructure. We find out more from Jon Copestake, editor of the Liveability Survey for The Economist Intelligence Unit.

 

A group of mayors from around the country, including New York City's Michael Bloomberg, are awarding a new set of grants on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The grants will go to ten cities, and are designed to encourage service in urban areas.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been convicted of one count of embezzlement. Dixon was found guilty of stealing around $630 worth of gift cards intended for needy families in Baltimore, then using the cards at stores like Target and Old Navy. Though the charge was only a misdemeanor, Dixon could be forced from office. We're joined by Marc Steiner, host of The Marc Steiner show on WEAA. He's a long-time Baltimore resident and he's been taking the pulse of a city that has, at times, been deeply divided over the mayor's trial.

The 35th Annual National Conference of Black Mayors convenes today in Las Vegas. In honor of the conference, we put together our own roundtable of black mayors to talk about issues they're facing during these tough economic times. We speak to Mayor John Marks of Tallahasse, Fla., Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden of Baton Rouge, La., and Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore.

Four years ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast, sending an enormous storm surge into the Mississippi river delta. By the time the winds died down, hundreds of thousands of residents of New Orleans were displaced and whole neighborhoods were destroyed. This week, we’ll be looking at New Orleans four years later. It’s now the fastest growing large city in America, and today we talk to three residents who are making new beginnings in the city.  

Clarence White was forced out of his Gentilly home during Hurrican Katrina. He was evacuated to Michigan, lived in a FEMA trailer for a time, and this month is finally planning to move back into his old house.
 
Allen Darnell is the COO of iSeatz, a software development company based in New Orleans. The company had to move to New York after the storm, but has now returned to New Orleans. 

Duke Bradley took over a failing public elementary school in the Ninth Ward and started Mays Prep Academy, a charter elementary school. This is the school’s first year, and he’s the principal.

For the last twenty five years, America has built-up the suburbs. But now Americans are beginning to rethink whether these communities are environmentally sustainable. Joining The Takeaway is James Howard Kunstler, one of the urban thinkers gathering in Denver this week for the Congress for New Urbanism. He’s the author of "The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century."

In the past 50 years, Denver has grown from a small city to a sprawling metropolitan region. With urban sprawl comes gentrification. The Takeaway caught up with Andres Duany, the founding member of the New Urbanism movement, to ask him about gentrification. How do you keep a neighborhood mixed, economically and socially?

Also, hear this bonus web-only interview we did with Duany on urban sprawl!

One of the most famously congested and crowded spots in the world is Times Square in New York City. Starting today, segments of its main thoroughfare, Broadway, will be closed to cars. In their place will be more room for pedestrians, and even cafe tables and chairs. The city says the plan will actually relieve traffic congestion. Transportation writer Matt Dellinger joins The Takeaway with a look at why New York is taking this step, and what it might mean for cities around the U.S.

Detroit voters went to the polls yesterday to elect an interim mayor to finish out disgraced, ousted, and convicted Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's term. The winner? David Bing -- former star of the Detroit Pistons, turned local business leader. Despite trailing in the polls, Bing beat out Ken Cockrel, the man currently sitting in the mayor's office. The new mayor takes on a city in financial crisis. For more we turn to Noah Ovshinsky, a political reporter for WDET in Detroit, who has been covering the mayoral race.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently advocated in favor of mayoral control of big-city schools. It is a system that is already in cities such as New York, Boston, and Chicago and Los Angeles, Dallas, and Newark are considering making the move. Is this growing trend good for the students? So far test results show that students aren't necessarily doing better in schools run by mayors. Here to help us take a closer look at the pros and cons of school governance is Joseph Viteritti, professor at Hunter College and editor of When Mayors Take Charge.

Listen to Educator-in-Chief Arne Duncan's interview on The Takeaway.

Who runs your school system? Tell us here!

The Takeaway is drilling down into the recession with our friend and contributor Paddy O’Connell, the host of BBC’s Broadcasting House. Paddy has been looking at how the recession is affecting people and businesses in one square mile of the city of Chicago.

For a closer look at the map, click here and here.

Facing a triple threat from the spiraling economy, mortgage foreclosures and an ailing auto industry, President Obama began his economic counteroffensive this week. He signed a huge stimulus bill, was given a multi-billion dollar plan to restructure car makers and announced a $50 billion foreclosure rescue. All of these moves resonate in Detroit, a city struggling with foreclosures and ground zero of the auto industry meltdown. Jerome Vaughn is the News Program Director at WDET-FM in Detroit and he joins The Takeaway this morning.