Seamless City

HOW DO WE KEEP AMERICA GREAT? Rick Baker, former mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, provides a compellingand challenginganswer: by making American cities great. And great cities are built first of all through strong leadership. During his two terms in office, Rick Baker worked toward a clear, uncompromising goal: to make St. Petersburg the best city in America. He led a downtown renaissance, rebuilt the most economically depressed area of the city, attracted businesses, worked to reduce violent crime, and made public schools a city priorityall with measurable results. The Seamless City offers practical advice, based on his nine years of experience in City Hall, to show how every mayor and city council can make their city dramatically better. In The Seamless City youll step behind the scenes of city government to learn: How maintaining basic amenities, like running water, requires constant vigilanceand sometimes tough decisions on the part of city leadershipWhy a vibrant downtown is essential to attract businesses and create jobsWhy the most effective leadership is servant leadership How to find and implement the most effective solutions to a citys most challenging problemsWhy city government needs to regard the city as a seamless whole, with no section under-served or overlooked