The American Dream has many definitions, but increasingly people are feeling their ability to achieve those personal goals are lessening, a new survey indicated.

City officials from around the country, gathered by the National League of Cities in a town-hall-style meeting Tuesday, said there was still some optimism among the masses, but help was needed to improve the lot of people concerned about jobs, education and affordable housing.

According to an NLC survey, about 67 percent of respondents in the United States believe the American dream is harder to achieve, and more than half of African-Americans say they are not living the dream, compared to one-third of Hispanics and Caucasians.

More than half of those polled said the government has done more to hinder than help in their pursuit of the American dream. More than two-thirds of all Americans asked believe that the government should actively work to help achieve the so-called dream, the survey said.

Poor-quality public education and financial insecurity were the top two of the several barriers mentioned by survey participants.

Aware of the concerns of those people, with worldwide competition for jobs and technology affecting the United States as never before, the assembled municipal leaders said, We've got to be competitive.

Various cities are facing up to the challenges by devising different strategies.

To be competitive and retain jobs, the leaders agreed that community colleges are key components of matching people and training them.

Brian O'Neill, council member of Philadelphia, said community colleges in his city are working with companies to identify needs and then training and retraining people -- and it's producing results.

San Jose, which lost more than 200,000 high-tech jobs in the last few years, is looking ahead to the future. Gearing up for the next level of innovation, Pat Dando, vice mayor of San Jose, said the city is aiding in creating garage incubators in the areas of biotech and medical research. Already there are a few success stories with such companies that have employed 300 people, she said.

Don Plusquellic, mayor of Akron, said, What we need to do is to educate our population so that they can take the jobs of the future.

Regretting that the United States ranks low when it comes to math and science education, he said, it's time a national strategy and commitment is adopted on the lines of India and Ireland.

The issues I am talking about are really national and need national assistance and level of support, Plusquellic added.

Good quality education, however, starts early, and there was a consensus that there is much to be done in the earliest stages. In childhood education, city leaders emphasized the importance of programs like Head Start and Early Learning and Childhood Readiness, saying the federal government should make efforts to implement these programs in an honest way.

If we could take the concepts of No Child Left Behind and Head Start and have the money to make them both work, I think we will actually raise all of our children's educational level, Dando said.

But as Charles Lyons, selectman of Arlington, Mass., and president of NLC pointed out, since the city and the state provide 94 percent of the funding for public education, he considers it (public education) to be fundamentally a state and local responsibility.

Also, We have to look at the demographic realities that exist in our school districts, Lyons said, which are more racially segregated today than they were in 1954.

If all we are going to do is to take scores and if are we all going to do is to tell the American public that this school district's score is higher than that school district without providing investment, without providing resources, is sort of like watching Nomar Garciaparra playing up at Chicago Cubs.

And if accountability and expectations standards are set, many of the schools will improve meeting those standards, as has been seen in San Jose, Dando said. It is not just about the money, it is not always in putting more money into a broken system. I think, if we continue to hone in on what the accountability factor is, I think, you will see schools start improving, she said.

With changing demographics and disparities growing even within affluent communities, housing is no longer an inner-city problem. Local governments are playing an important role to accommodate people in affordable housing, but, as some leaders said, they expect more help and direction from the federal government.

Broward County, Fla., which has $300,000 as the median price of houses, has come up with investment trust funds and tax breaks to entice developers to come and build affordable housing, said Rhonda Calhoun, vice mayor of Coral Springs, Fla. And using private leveraging dollars, San Jose has come up with housing programs for teachers, firefighters and police.

More flexibility on the part of local governments, especially in zoning modifications, is necessary, some leaders pointed out.

With many neighborhoods hardly having any homeowners, the federal government can play a role by making policies that target both people and areas, Philadelphia's O'Neill said.

Washington Mayor Anthony Williams said it's not a question of whether the federal government should play a part, but to me it's how and when, adding what it can do is to create broad incentives for cities.

(Please send comments to nationaldesk@upi.com.)