550 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

The title of this keynote address is "The Urgency of the Metro-
politan Crisis. " I think the facts are self-evident. This summer seventy-
six American cities exploded in a wave of unprecedented violence.
Over 1100 million of insured property was destroyed, and here I cite
only the loss of property, not the more precious commodity — life!
We can no longer deny that critical conditions exist, or delay measures
to secure and restore our cities.

But if we are to provide the right answers, first we must pose the
right questions. This is exactly why you are here — first to frame the
problems, next to forge the strategies of solution.

While I shall not comment on Denver in the particular, I believe
all metropolitan areas share, to an increasing extent, common prob-
lems — and I emphasize that metropolitan problems are plural and
cannot be considered or treated as a singular entity.

In his recent article, "Urban Problems in Perspective, " Harvard
political scientist James Q. Wilson warns against the temptations of
oversimplification or a monolithic approach to assessing the metro-
politan crisis. Wilson writes: "Speaking of urban problems has real
dangers for it lends to the substitution of effect for cause and thus
the misdirection of remedial action. " Although there is general agree-
ment on the evidence of metropolitan crisis — blight, poverty, pollu-
tion and traffic congestion — Wilson correctly cites that "slums and
bums and cars are not the causes of problems, they are the symptoms,
and if we tear them down or clear them out or ban them from one
place, they will inevitably reappear somewhere else. "

Genuine renewal, and resolution rather than removal, depends upon
the accurate identification of root causes. Essentially there are two
broad categories of problems — structural and social. Structural prob-
lems include blight, traffic congestion, air and water pollution. We
possess and may employ scientific knowledge and technical methods
to correct these problems. Proper comprehensive planning governing
land use, transportation arteries, community facilities, zoning and
capital improvements can alleviate, eliminate or even prevent struc-
tural problems. Here, we have fairly dependable answers and the
chief obstacles to implementation are economic and political; are we
willing to invest the necessary dollars in solutions and on what priority
basis?

Social problems are infinitely more complex. While this is the heart
of the problem, these are subjective and psychic issues of poverty,
prejudice, inadequate education, family disorganization and inherent