Open Source asks: What Makes a City Great?

As Seattlest mentioned last week, Christopher Lydon's public radio show Open Source is doing a Seattle-centric show this week.

Actually, the show is today, and they've chosen a topic: "What Makes a City Great?"

What makes a city great in the first place? What are the ingredients, the psychology, the topography? What makes a city livable? Are they the same thing? What about sustainable? What about green? And what does it mean when an entire city is obsessed with these questions?

Seattlest is excited about this topic, especially since our topic suggestion is quoted in the show's description. Since we moved here 13 years ago, Seattle's drive to be a "world-class city" has percolated through local politics, influencing everything from our negotiations with sports teams and 2012 Olympic bid to rules for strip clubs and smoking to the monorail and light rail.

Put it this way: Milwaukee and Seattle are about the same size, population-wise. (Milwaukee, last we checked, was actually still a bit bigger.) Is Milwaukee a world-class city? (We'd vote no, it's a pleasant mid-sized American city, which is just fine.) But we spent a decade there and don't remember the question ever coming up.

We're looking forward to tonight's show. You can listen to the show live online at 4 pm, or catch it on KUOW tonight at 9.

UPDATE: Seattlest wrote the above before Open Source revealed the guest list for tonight's show. Our enthusiasm has taken a hit. Joni Balter? Norm Rice? Why not just put The Conversation on at 9:00 and be done with it?