Saturday, May 22, 2004
last week, I participated in an engaging program in Pittsburgh that explored regionalism in Southwest Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, the Pittsburgh Foundation and Sustainable Pittsburgh sponsored the program. View the agenda.
Sheryl Snyder, a corporate attorney from Lousville, provided us with some important insights into how Louisville, over the course of nearly fifty years, moved toward a city-county merger. (The first vote on a city county merger occurred in 1956 in Louisville.)
The most significant factor in this conference, though, was the framing of the issue. The sponsors "connected the dots" among sustainability, competitiveness and regional governance. Equally importnat, they prommoted the idea that reginalism is a big, global concept. By focusing on the emerging partnership between Turin, Italy and Lyon, France (separated by 200 miles and the Alps), the conference sparked some good discussion on building collaborations between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Here's an article on what happened at the conference. Read more.
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:
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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.
Pittsburgh's regionalism discussions
