president yanukovych said it will hold a special parliament on tuesday, but opposition want him to resign. mackintosh turns 30 years old today. headline storiethose are the he. "inside story" is next. >> urban challenges in a time of economic change is the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. america cities didn't escape the national recession, and at a time when their residents needed government more money coming in

from sales and property taxes plummeted as millions lost their jobs and homes. running a city means thinking about the urgent needs of today and about what the city is going to need 10, 20, 30 years from now. money spent today will have an impact today and have a big say in how people will commute, learn, work, and play for years to come. looking to the state capitol isn't very promising these days, and the glory days of you are man investment from the federal government seem over for good. what the city has got in the 6060's can look in retrospect le a mistake. so america, how is it going? we'll spend the rest of the program looking at the answer. 280 mayors descended on washington, d.c. hoping to persuade congress the president and his cabinet to pay more attention to american cities. on thursday president obama

pledged to help mayors and not wait on a divided congress. >> i can take executive action. on a phone i can rally folks around the country to restore opportunities. >> reporter: the u.s. conference of mayors of mayors who governor cities of 30,000 or more people. >> it's a great opportunity to collaborate with our peer group of mayors and learn best practices and bring it back to our community. >> reporter: topping the agenda a call for help from high unemployment. many areas with a projected unemployment of 7% in 2014. >> the more jobs we create the better it is. you'll find that nationwide. >> reporter: other issues on the table include energy. two out of three cities plan on increasing investment in green energy technology in 2014 specifically in public buildings and street lighting to combat

crime. urban transportation and infrastructure problem demanding serious attention as u.s. metro's explode in population in 201080% of americans called urban areas home. and economic growth, mayors continue to reach out to the federal government for help with post recession aid. >> with administrations, be they state, federal or local administrations, they can help us. >> a joint study by a market research group and mayors reveal that 98% of u.s. metros are expecting positive economic growth in shoe. that's a huge difference from a year ago when economies were in decline. >> we had significant fiscal challenges, which everybody does, you know, having gone through this great recession. and structural deficits that we're working on. >> metros across the country saw big losses in public programs

after major revenue losses of the recession. the deficits trickle down with consequences. >> there are always budget issues. >> after riding out the recovery, production powerhouses today cities are responsible for 75% of the national economic output. >> seattle is coming out of the recession faster than the rest of our state is. amazon is growing there. starbucks, you know, microsoft, we're lucky in that way. >> with americans increasingly relocating to cities, 2014 is a year the help of cities could command more attention from all levels of government. >> more americans are living in cities than in decades, and that's not a coincidence. city governments work hard to lure new residents and keep the old ones with promises of jobs,

safety, and vibrant culture on the front lines of these efforts are america's mayors. to discuss the cities and their management are the mayors of three major american cities. charlie hales mayor of portland, oregon. jean kwan, the first chinese american woman to be become mayor of a major american city. and so by keeping in mind that mayors are boosters since you've been on the job a whole two weeks, let's start with you. how are things going? >> i've had the experience of being a council member for 12 years and chief of staff for seven years for 19 years i had the opportunity to watch other people play the video game and

wanted the opportunity to do it. we never had the boom so we didn't have the bust after 2008. we had a steady progress going up and that continued after a lot of cities saw fall of property values and unemployment. i think it could be viewed as a tale of two cities. you see prosperity where new economies are taking off as the mayor of seattle was talking about within the tech industry, and new firms. then you see on the same side where the disparity is growing larger and the have no's and that's where you see the hurt from the cuts in federal funding and the state capitols without the programs to help break the cycles of poverty. >> mayor kwan, how is it go? >> you know, oakland has often been the shadow of san francisco it has become the fifth best

place to visit. we're one of the most diverse cities in the country. we speak over 130 languages, and we're in the center of the bay area, so we've almost caught up with pre-recession times, and we're developing new industries, trade and transportation healthcare and some of the new green tech solar energy, gleets right off the top you mentioned san francisco. is it luck to have a very hot city so close by? >> sometimes yes, sometimes you feel like you're the ugly stepsister, and people don't acknowledge your values. i would say one of the things that oakland has right now that san francisco is struggling with, we've maintained a diverse population not just ethnically but economically, we've maintained middle class and were

you-collared jobs in our city. we're the home of the university of california and kaiser industries and so we have a lot of history in our own right. >> well, portland, mayor hales, how is it looking? >> we felt the down draft like most cities did. we've recovered economically where we were before that recession, but there are also some structural things that have changed that is helping us a lot. in a time when capital and talent are mobile, quality of place is really what each city has to compete. portland has a lot going on both historically because of a great park system and street grid, but we've invested in transit and bike ways and very things that mobile young professionals are looking for in terms of quality of life and lifestyle. now we're seeing a pretty significant migration to portland of talent and youth, and that bodies as well for us in the years add.

>> portland did unusual thing. it put in a development buffer, a place where it says it stops here and no further. did that force people to look back to the center city? did it cause new building and investment? >> definitely, it has really helped oregon and helped portland in particular. we only have a couple of suburban shopping malls. you drive out of town and at some point the farmland starts. it's real farmland. it's not just waiting for the next subdivision. that is now paying dividends because we have an incredible food scene. we're exporters of food, wine and beer and we can count on those things years ahead and that is congruent to the young mobile who want to set up the economy of the future. they want to buy local food. they don't want to own a car in many cases.

we're a place that can live those values. and most cities create that urban environment that our kids' generation wants to live in, not just because it's cool but it fits fundamental bedrock values that they have. >> portland has a strong band today. mayors kwan and paduto, i'm sure for all the good that is going on, there is sometimes the need to push back a little bit against what isterio typical thinking about your cities that it's a rust belt or clapped up factory town when it's far more than that. thacked is a policthat oakland f dysfunction and crime. have you been able to r rebrand. >> i don't know if i want to rebrand. the rust belt to me is not putting that same vernacular as something falling apart.

for pittsburgh, it's an opportunity to build from it instead of walking away from it. we had to go through a 34-year process when the economy was pulled from under knight us. there were no federal bailouts or federal programs to keep the jobs in pittsburgh, and it took us a decade to realize the mills were not coming back, so we reinvented ourselves. we created an entire new economy on healthcare, science, energy, and finances, and more diversified stronger economy from that. the quality of life issues, we were able to hold onto the brand that we had.

and it was the richest city in north american. it's letting people understand as we start to shift how cities do change, cities are resilient and cities can come back. the way that pittsburgh came back is very different from the city that my grandfather came to in 1921 from city italy. it's not that same city but it does have the opportunity to be better. >> i think when people think with oakland, the polarization between black and white community, but today oakland is a city that is equally divided between blacks, asians, latinos, african-americans. we're diverse racially and economically and makes it one of the most interesting cities in the world. we won over 20 accolades being one of the most exciting cities to being one of the greenest cities, and portland and oakland

are similar, we're both old port cities. oakland is more diverse, we have the best weather. there are some things that people think they know, but when they come, i have walked with many groups, many say i didn't know it was this beautiful. that you have the redwood forests and we have every micro climate for gardeners. and we're a city of innovation. i have very poor neighbors where african-americans are still not graduating at 50%, and on the other hand the most highly educated cities in the country because we're home of university of california. it makes for a very interesting city. it's now becoming the city of preference for boomers who went to the suburbs but quite frankly it's a cultural desert, so more things happen on the weekend than other cities the whole

month long. people are coming back both young people who want to be in a green city where they ride a bike and don't want to own a car, and then some people who are coming back because they want to age in a place that is interesting and get great food and weather. >> we'll talk about what the next assignment is after this comeback story of three mayors. we'll talk about what the cities have to do now. you're talking about "inside story." stay with us. >> our in depth series on education continues... >> i'm a physicist, and i've gotten a whole new understanding of the meaning of inertia, from trying to get these ideas out... >> flip school, part of our week long in depth series america tonight only on al jazeera america

al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. in 201080% of all americans were living in urban areas. cities across the united states are growing, some by double digit percentages in a ten-year period according to the latest census data. we're talking about cities and

how to cope with rapid fire growth and the demands that come with it, and if you're looking to invest in things like light-rail or new inter modal transit links to your central business districts, the old days of flying in from washington are they over? >> they are. the fact is it's been dubbed the new normal. a lot of the new programs that are underfunded are the under the words "public," which has been given a bad name. public infrastructure, public education, public transit. the very basis of creating a community. as you lose funding from a state to hundred dollars main street programs and and transit program, you lose the ability to see this expansion occur. you have to become more creative in the way that you enseventh ie

development so improvements can be made. i think what you'll start seeing with the federal government, the cuts to the community block grant program which affect the poorest in the community, you'll see more with this administration leapfrogging congress and working directly with mayors. so as the president wants to promote an early childhood education program, he'll look for cities that want to pilot it. instead of going through congress to create a national model of it, create pilot programs kraut throughout the country. the logjam that you see in washington will benefit those cities that are most adaptable. at the state level recently we don't have that same type of an option. >> mayor kwan, california's fiscal woes are legendary, but the governor is the former mayor

of oakland, does that help? >> yes and no. you know, the mayor or governor jerry brown eliminated one of our tools, which whereas redevelopment where you create tax zones and that really hurt a lot of their poorer cities that used that to clean up blighted neighborhoods. jerry brown used it heavily. we were struggling, it was like a mini recession. but i have to say that the obama administration because we're a port city has invested in the national infrastructure like the port. we heard today from the trade mission about a third of the economic growth during the boom administration has come from import/expert so, they've made tactical decisions to invest. some people say, oh, she's oakland, what do we care about the port of oklahoma. we export 80% of the food product going to asia.

we have beef coming from texas, chickens coming from the southeast. and soybeans coming from iowa. the infrastructure railroads, etc. are very, very important to us. on other programs like social programs they've been slowly dieing. this year i put in several million dollars to save my head start centers. luckily that has been restored but i'm prepared to put that money aside because i don't believe that congress has that commitment to the very poor that cities like oakland take, we take the new immigrants. we take the poor, the elderly, and we provide a decent place for people to live. >> can cities, mid-sized cities do it on your own? i've been on your light rare system. that's a long term investment. can cities bear the cost of these things on their own? >> i think not, and i have a slightly different view of the issue than my colleagues. there are some who say the

federal government has developed into a healthcare company with an army. i don't think it's quite that bad. i think the federal government has moved from being a general partner like bloc programs to being a limited areas. there are areas where where they are critical partners. the federal government transit program is still making 50% investments in projects. their streetcar projects under construction all over the country, cincinnati, salt lake city, tucson, portland, where ththey stepped up with money tht was combined with local money, and the ferrell government and the state government are still a good partner for us, and the obama administration has really been tactical and smart of how

to leverage the limited dollars that congress allows to get really good things done. >> you heard the mayor talk about the new normal. is that the new normal for cities doing more on their own, using limited finances. >> i think so. the new normal for all of us is that we'll have to be more creative and more independent but call on other levels of government or other partners like the philanthropic sector that is so important in pitsties to be able to make the good things and big expensive things actually happen. >> one thing i want to talk about in the next break after we come back from this quick break is immigration because it has a very different impact depending on where you are in the country, and it still unfinished business for the united states. this is inside story. stay with us.

in.

>> welcome back. i'm ray suarez. 280 american mayors were in washington this week where the president told them he didn't have to wait around for congress to get things done. one exception is immigration reform. the immigrant profile is not exactly uniform. they go to some places and not to heirs. and we have the handful of cities that have not attracted immigrants lately. is this a big part of pittsburgh future. >> it's what built the city to begin with. my own grandfather came to pittsburgh to be able to use his back and arms to work at columbia steel for 38 years working the night shift. that's how pittsburgh was built. the immigrants of today are coming to use their minds. our pan asian immigrants are the highly educated and highest

salary. we've lost on lower skill workers but we've attracted scientists, engineers, doctors coming to our universities, medical centers and staying. we need to do a better job of tracting more. if i had a magic wand and i could pass one thing in congress i would pass rather than early childhood initiatives would be the visa staple to every diploma. instead of training these young people at our universities and having them go back to their own countries, they would stay here and start their careers in the united states. >> mayor hales, is that one that you put a high priority. >> it is important. we used to be one the least diverse cities in the country, and that has been changing. it's a different set of immigrant communities than 50 to 100 years ago. i think its great. it's really enriching portland in terms of culture and economic

life. i was recently at a local business, a company that makes granola bars, and. >> talking about playing into the stereotype. >> they're growing fast. they're hiring from the neighborhood and the biggest challenge is communication. because they had so many different languages spoken among their workers. it's a great problem to have. they're working on finding lead workers who can also be translators. but that's a training and wonderful new territory for us. we want national immigration policy, to support that kind of uplift and opportunity for people to come to america, do what mayor padututo's father did, and make a start here today. >> we want to talk to the world, not just from the world. >> locked hauls haoakland becaur

progressive social organizations. we have families like mine who have been in the country for over a hundred years, but because of discrimination has been separated and still trying to unify. and i think oakland was the end of the transdon't ne trans tran. wherever we are, the inequality and the way we treat immigrants especially with agri business is not acceptable today. we allow children to go to the university and have financial assistance. you have children growing up in this limbo land, and it's not fair. we have crippling high numbers in the cities.

>> what i'm hearing from all three of you, part of policy is national immigration policy. mayors, thanks for joining us today on inside story. that brings us to the end of this edition of the program. thanks for being with us. now the program may be over but the conversation continues. we want to hear what you think about the issues that we heard discussed on this or any days show. you can log on to our facebook page. you can accepted us your thoughts on twitter. our handle, aj inside story am or reach me directly at ray suarez news. we'll see you for the next inside story in washington. i'm ray suarez.

>> he's the man who brought a generation to warp speed. although george takei is perhaps best known as playing lieutenant sulu on star trek, he has a decades long career, and recently wrote and start in a musical, regarding japanese internment. something he has an intimate knowledge of. he went