Dave’s our man in Milwaukee, and he’s going to rock out with his… socks out (or on?) every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month. Ready? Go, Dave!

My name is Dave Steele, I am 30 years old, and I live and work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have a master’s degree in urban planning and I work for a non-profit educational foundation in Milwaukee, where I work to improve urban education by connecting schools in the city with neighborhoods and community resources.

I am a believer in the great promise of cities as engines of innovation and meeting grounds of ideas and people. As a proud resident of a classic rust belt city that has suffered from deindustrialization, strained race relations, and a struggling education system, I am under no illusions that our cities are performing their function in our society the way they could, or should.

As much as I am encouraged by the great strides my city has taken in recent years to revitalize its downtown and surrounding neighborhoods and attract new residents, we will never be a successful city until every Milwaukeean has an equal chance at a good education and a good job. For half of us in Milwaukee, life has never been better, as new restaurants, new shops, and new cultural amenities open all the time. But for the other half of Milwaukee, nothing has really changed, and, in some ways, life has gotten tougher.

My blog will about these “two Milwaukees” and what could be done to bring them together. Selah.

—Dave Steele