Friday, June 13, 2003
Turning around a city is no picnic. Rochester has invested about $300 million since 1998 on the mayor's plan, and now people want a five year update.
The city has a lot of economic assets: Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, but the biggest challenge is managing people's perceptions.
Turning around a city takes a generation, and a large part of the challenge for EDPros is managing expectations. My brother, Hunter, was the planning director for the City of Cleveland and the prime mover of much of what you see today: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Browns, Stadium, Jacobs Field and more. He reminds audiences: "Cleveland is the miracle that took twenty years to happen."
Rochester is learning this lesson. Read on.
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.
Rochester continues to move forward
