Thursday, April 24, 2003
Leesburgh, VA is trying to reshape its downtown. I've been following this story for a number of months now and it makes interesting reading. The valuable aspect of this approach is the integration of urban design with business development...it's not just pretty pictures.
In a nutshell, the strategies in the plan are: building a cultural arts center as a new anchor, launching a unified marketing program, establishing a “River Walk? starting a merchant’s guild, creating a business development network, and establishing a resource center.
Here are three articles that give you the background.
Today in our History of Innovation... George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in 1888. Fifty-five years earlier, in 1833, Jacob Ebert of Cadiz, Ohio, and George Dulty of Wheeling, West Virgina, patented the soda fountain.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Reshaping downtown in Leesburg, VA
