I was talking to a good friend of mine recently at a meeting and he asked this question to me. Can a conservative governing coalition be built in this country that's almost exclusively urban? I told him that is what we are trying to do in urban areas in Michigan like Detroit and Benton Harbor.

Today, as Detroit liberals fight over political power and the Mayor's seat we must set our sites on building a new urban conservatism. The philosophy of urban conservatism must take root in Detroit, which is one of the US' poorest cities. Over one-quarter of its population lives below the poverty level, and every modern urban problem exists within the city. Urban conservatism will control the political spectrum by instituting a bipartisan coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats. This will set a distinctive tone in local governance, responding heavily to business elements over the poor. Three controversies that illustrate this conservatism are analyzed: (1) an attempt to regionalize the Detroit Public Schools with Wayne RESA; (2) the utilization of zoning to curtail social services in the city; and (3) the limiting of public participation and oversight of city council activities. These developments suggest that a new type of urban conservative regime may be developing, stemming from a new ethos of privatism and the emerging global economy.

While this may be true in some cases in terms of urban conservative politics we must take a look at how urban conservatism can help transform Detroit. For instance, with the current political crisis that's has taken root in Detroit we need to look towards an alternative method of solving problems.

While some Whites feel that urban conservatives are more likely than not to be persons of color we should not concern ourselves over race. Urban conservatism is a movement that is aimed at connecting urban communities with the African Diaspora from a free market economic perspective.

Urban conservatives are fiscally conservative and stress individual responsibility over government responsibility. The urban conservative is more supportive of immigration than other conservatives. They are likely to support mass transit initiatives. They are more likely to support tougher prison terms for violent offenders; however, we question Draconian educational policies like teacher certification requirements that hinder economic progress and the incarceration of large numbers of Black and other minorities for drug offenses.

Today ,urban conservatism is necessary because the Republican Party has adopted many policies and values that simply don't fit into contemporary urban settings. Even though there was a strong moderate wing of the Republican Party in the 1940's and 50s today we cannot even find a LOCAL Republican or Democratic party that has an urban policy in place to get our neighbors engaged in the urban transformation process.

Whites and some Blacks, who are staunch mainstream conservatives, believes there is very little need to modify conservatism to fit into modern urban life. If that was the case then how come no one is having a discussion on investing in Africa or across the Diaspora? There are emerging markets in Nigeria and Cameroon. Other Arab nations understand the importance of building alliances with these countries because of oil (Nigeria is a member of OPEC). We have a Port Authority here in Detroit, yet we are not taking full advantage of this opportunity to increase trade with other nations.

Mainstream conservatism is out of touch with Blacks in urban communities because (1) these conservatives who complain about Detroit never come into the inner city to begin with but will tell you how they are from Detroit...like back in the 50s and 60s and (2) mainstream conservatives are attached to individualism, self-reliance, self-sufficiency and closeness to nature. This is the direct opposite of what urban conservatives are all about which is togetherness, group process and interconnecting with others from different aspects of thinking for one common goal.

Detroit must take care not to adopt a patronizing attitude towards globalization if it wants to become a major player as a financial market. The city should not be viewed through the prism of `band-aid diplomacy'. Recent decades have witnessed revenue sharing packages offered to Detroit and other urban areas in Michigan by the State of Michigan. While these commitments are indeed commendable, in reality not all of them have been fulfilled. However, urban conservatism will demonstrate how aid packages will no longer excite Detroiters because many taxpayers who are fiscal urban conservatives will look out for fresh investments and joint partnerships to attain sustained economic growth.

Detroit must become an emerging sector of technology to connect with those in Africa by exporting cost effective and intermediate technology to the continent. Urban conservative leadership in Detroit will lead the rest of Automation Alley express special interest in forging partnership in areas such as Information Technology, agriculture, health and pharmaceuticals. Right now, only half a million Africans have access to the Internet, and there is thus a pressing need to narrow the "digital divide". African countries could benefit from Detroit and Automation Alley in Oakland County prowess in the field of IT. African leaders could begin to quote the example of Oakland County and Detroit's green revolution and its attainment of self sufficiency in technology. Detroit's expertise, with venues like Tech Town, in this sector can help to develop the African potential. The growing spread of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV AIDS have made health an important agenda for most African governments. Here, Detroit and other regions in Southeast Michigan has the advantage of offering medicines and drugs at substantially lower costs compared to other major Western firms. The time is thus ripe for Detroit to forge a mutually beneficial partnership, taking advantage of the goodwill that exists for it in Africa.