Roanoke Higher Education Center Thursday, September 25, 2003 At the invitation of the Virginia Economic Development Association (VEDA), I spent the day in Roanoke at their Fall conference. I gave one of the presentations at the conference, and I had a chance to take a walking tour of downtown. I'll outline a few of my observations in subsequent posts. I was impressed by the aggressive role that the City takes in shaping the downtown. The City has acted as lead developer on several projects, stepping in when market forces are too weak to inspire private developers. The most significant building I toured was the Roanoke Higher Education Center, a beautiful renovation of one of the Norfolk and Southern office buildings. The $22 million renovation now houses offices for 21 post secondary institutions and workforce training programs. So, for example, the University of Virginia's programs are locate in the same building that houses th Virginia Workforce Network. One entrance to the building is a beautiful Art Deco restoration. The second entrance is modern with Art Deco themes (pictured on the Center's web site). This is the type of co-location of higher education that more communities should be considering. Visit the web site. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1889, the word hamburger first appeared in print in a Walla Walla, Washington, newspaper. The hamburger was named after a German food called hamburg steak, not because it contains ham, but in the meaning of "from Hamburg." In the 19th century, German immigrants migrated to North America bringing along the recipe for the hamburg steak, a form of pounded beef. Americans adopted the hamburg steak but used the adjective form "hamburger" without "steak". By 1902, the first description of a hamburg steak close to the American conception of the hamburger, gave a recipe calling for ground beef mixed with onion and pepper. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. 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.

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