How does a city of competing interests unify? City leadership needs to find common ground that affects everyone, regardless of group identity. Polling shows that the No. 1 complaint of the voters is crime. Crime is the common ground that everyone can rally around. Crime is where everyone can come together on the neutral ground.

Robert Collins
Robert Collins is a professor of Urban Studies and Public Policy at Dillard, where he holds the Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Professorship. He previously held positions as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate vice president for academic affairs at Dillard. He also served on the Urban Planning faculty at Harvard University. Before entering academia, he had a career as a congressional staffer, working for former U.S. Sen. Bennett Johnston.