Becoming an Economic Powerhouse

What is your definition of a great city? What do you think it takes to become an "economic powerhouse"? There are many different elements that make up a great city. While the list could go on and on, here are just a few concrete elements that are imperative to surviving and becoming a strong, economically vibrant city.

First, an economically vibrant city must have people. Ok, that's an easy one, but an element so easily taken for granted. It is the people within your city that either make or break it. It is those same people that determine the will and the strength of a community because they ultimately make up the leadership, the entrepreneurs, the customers, and the ambassadors - or bashers - of your city. They must be diverse in age. From young to old, a diverse age of people who are responsible for the care and growth of their city create an economically vibrant city. The people, the very people that live, work and play in your community, have the strength to make a city economically vibrant or bash the city into economic despair.

Second, an economically vibrant city must have strong neighborhoods - neighborhoods that are family friendly, welcoming, and create a sense of close community to those who enter its proverbial gates. Neighborhoods add distinctive characteristics to a city through its historical precedents and its ability to maintain its character and thrive as a safe, likable, and livable place.

Thirdly, an economically vibrant city must have a strong educational system in place. The cities must invest in their schools, priding itself in the teachers, the facilities, and the programs that make up the educational system. There must be opportunities not only for pre-k through high school, but also for higher educational and post-graduate opportunities. A strong educational system is an important key to any economically vibrant city.

Fourth, an economically vibrant city must have a strong health care system. In order to appeal to retirees and young families alike, there must be ease in access to good, solid health care facilities. The people that live and work within a city must feel confident in knowing they will be well taken care of not only for preventative health care measures, but also in the event of an unexpected emergency health issue that may arise.

Fifth, an economically vibrant city must be business friendly: from the professional business offices to the retail shops, the business environment must be friendly, and the businesses in abundance. The life of a city is dependent on its ability to foster and nurture opportunities for people to find jobs, stay in their own community to shop, or attract outside visitors to stay and shop. The economic impact of tourism and retail activity go hand in hand. A strong network of businesses and retail activity play a key role in a truly economically vibrant city.

But if all of these things make up an economically vibrant city, what creates an economic powerhouse? If a city has people, strong neighborhoods, a solid educational system, great health care options, and lots of businesses and retail, what makes that city truly unique? What makes it stand out from all of the other city's out there that have all of these same elements in place?

The last element ties all of these things together. An economically vibrant city must have a strong central core - a strong downtown. The key to creating an economic powerhouse lies in strengthening the central gathering place, the very place that defines everything that the city has now become. Without that central core, the city would have never been founded in the first place. And now today, the city will not thrive without investing in and fostering a strong environment in that central core. The downtown becomes the place where the people that live in those neighborhoods, go to those schools, find great health care facilities, and establish their own businesses and shop throughout the town all come together for cultural, historical, walkable and healthy opportunities. All roads within that community first stemmed out from the downtown. Therefore, all roads now lead to that downtown. It becomes the central gathering place for a people of a strong community and vibrant city. It becomes the place where visitors go to really check out the uniqueness of that city. Without strength in the downtown, it is impossible to become an economic powerhouse in an ever increasingly competitive location-driven environment.

A strong downtown becomes paramount to the ultimate success of your city. Thankfully, there are organizations such as our consulting business filled with individuals who have been in the trenches before and are dedicated to assisting communities become economic powerhouses. They do so by creating and implementing practices specifically catered to your town, that will ultimately improve and rebuild the downtown. Take advantage of those individuals out there that can help your community become an economic powerhouse for generations to come.

Visions of Sugar-Plums

"While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads...." - a line we all grew up hearing, and one that to this day, still gives us child-like feelings of giddy excitement. Dreaming of such vision played a prominent role in many of our lives and the reality of waking up to some sort of tasty candy, whether a "sugar-plum candy" or not, happened. It became proof at such a young age that if you had a vision of something, it could easily become a reality if you only believed.

As we've all grown, I'm perplexed at the number of individuals across this country that have lost that belief in visions becoming reality. Where did the child-like faith go? This morning I was reading about a town in Arizona that has visions of "tree-shaded walkways meandering to outdoor cafes and a farmers market" in their downtown. The article goes on to say "Perhaps most importantly, it could bring life to a listless downtown area."

This is a story written about so many towns across the entire U.S.A. The article could even be generically written with "Your Town, U.S.A." plugged into it many times over. However, the great thing about downtown development is that while the concept is familiar and readily read and spoken of in various cities, the outcome is always uniquely different for each city and town, each and every time. Why is this? Because of the vision. Because of the type of candy each town perceives that "sugar-plum" to be. Cities create their own "sugar-plum" made up of ingredients unique only to the town in which the vision comes from. Redevelopment in one downtown will never be the same as redevelopment in another.

So what about those that have lost that belief in visions becoming a reality? Surely no one out there has lost that belief. Unfortunately, in all too many cities across this country, the belief has been lost by those in leadership positions that have the full capabilities to make such visions reality. They've become so cynical of visions becoming reality that any dreams of a brighter tomorrow for an old downtown are too often downplayed and brushed off as an annoyance and waste of money. Should you ever wonder which cities have fallen prey to such a trap, visit a city that has had dreams of better tomorrows for their downtown only to be spoken of negatively for the fact of that long talked about dream never becoming a reality. It is not for a lack of ability of such dream to become true: It is because of a lack of believers in leadership positions of visions becoming reality. Once those in leadership believe, truly believe, things can and will happen. And that city with a listless, lifeless downtown will experience life breathed back into it with child-like enthusiasm and energy, and the visions of sugar-plums will again begin dancing in their heads, with giddy excitement.