RegionWatch Index

October 2005
ARS LETTER TO YOU

Leaders Have Never Felt the Need for Regional Strategy

Curtis Johnson
Citistates Group
Adapted from a speech given about the Great North Alliance?s ( GNA ) latest Opportunity Forecast.  GNA is a regional civic leadership organization that networks CEO-level leaders with the Twin Cities' minds and talent to make a difference on the critical issues affecting our region?s economic competitiveness.  The GNA Opportunity Forecast is issued every two years as a way to measure the Twin Cities.  As with so many of these indicator projects in regions around the country the challenge is using them as a guide for taking action.  While Curt Johnson is speaking to people in the Twin Cities, his message is applicable to most regions.  The speech was give to a meeting sponsored by the Great North Alliance, the Urban Land Institute and the Regional Mayors Council. The entire GNA Opportunity Forecast is available at www.thegreatnorth.com/forecast.asp.

If this latest report card on the Twin Cities region?s competitiveness were a medical chart, it might say that our vital signs remain strong but the immune system is weakening.

The results beg these questions:  Are we destined to be cold, old, with blue politics slouching toward merlot, competing with red states with warmer climates, and losing competitive position, just slowly enough that we do not react? Are we so satisfied with our 20th century experience that we just assume success in the 21st?  Why does our overall score of B- match Austin, but people nationally are more likely to think of Austin as a growing success?  Do we still have it in us to imagine better ways of doing things, or does discomfort with change, reinforced by the good life most of us have, leave us just hoping for the best?

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THE REGIONAL FILES


City Needs its New First Families to Take Lead Role

Originally printed on Crain's ChicagoBusiness.com, October 17, 2005. Chicago Business ran an extensive story regarding the emerging families with wealth in Chicago.  This introduction lays out the challenge that many regions face as a new generation of people control new wealth.  Regions need to find ways to get these families to become stewards of the region, like many of the old families were in the past.

Chicago is a family town.

As the special Focus section, Illinois' Most Influential Families, in this week's issue shows, families have played a huge role in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of our city, from its origins as a swampy trading post through its emergence as an international commercial center. Perhaps more than in any other large American city, prominent families still occupy a central position in Chicago 's civic and financial firmament.

The tradition began with families like the Palmers, Swifts, Armours and Rosenwalds. They built old-style industrial empires in 19th-century industries like meatpacking and took upon themselves the problems of an infant metropolis. They created Chicago's basic infrastructure, along with many of its cultural and academic institutions.

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THE REGIONAL FILES


2005 Mayor's Caucus:  A Regional Planning Conference for Southwest Florida

Ken Heatherington
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council

Regional visioning is not a matter of jurisdictional boundaries but one of problem solving and using new or revised tools, techniques, and collaborative communication strategies to address an issue and its geographical impact or significance.  Regionalism is a means to move beyond political and geographical boundaries that are becoming increasingly blurred by physical development and government oversight. 

Elected officials from throughout Southwest Florida gathered in the City of Sarasota on October 6th and 7th for a Mayors? Caucus designed to unite municipal and county leaders from across the region for the purposes of enhancing collaborative communication, sharing the advantages of cooperative action, and exchanging ideas and experiences.


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INNOVATIVE IDEAS


Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council Offers Regional Economic Modeling Tool

Ken Heatherington
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council

In another nod to the advancement of regionalism, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, which spearheads a number of initiatives designed to promote investment in local communities and enhance the economic conditions of the citizens who make their homes in the area, is pleased to announce the availability of a new tool that will help it provide its constituents with high quality information about the economic impacts of proposed activities and unexpected events.  The Council, like other Regional Planning Councils in Florida, has acquired a state-of-the-art economic modeling program -- the Regional Economic Modeling Inc.?s (REMI) Policy Insight ®.

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INNOVATIVE IDEAS


"Centers for Regional Excellence" to Encourage Collaboration Between Local Governments

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm is joining a growing list of state leaders who are realizing the importance of using sub-state regional approaches for dealing with the challenges facing their state.  You can check out this exciting new program at www.michigan.gov/cre.

Originally published on the CRE website (www.michigan.gov/cre), October 11, 2005.


LANSING Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced a plan to encourage collaboration and resource sharing among local governments. The Centers for Regional Excellence (CRE) program (www.michigan.gov/cre) will help communities work together to share services, agencies, equipment, and employees in order to streamline government and save taxpayer money. Granholm announced that the state is seeking proposals from community partnerships interested in obtaining a ? Center of Excellence ? designation and a grant to support their collaboration efforts.

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ARS ACTIVITIES


Last Chance to Register for the ARS National Forum on Regional Stewardship!!

12th National Forum will highlight Louisville Merger experience and explore new models of Collaborative Governance


The ARS National Forum on Regional Stewardship is just a week away! You can still register for the Forum and the "Lessons from Merger' Workshop. The Forum and Workshop agendas and online registration are available at: regionalstewardship.org/register4forum.html.

Program Highlights

This Forum?s theme is ?Collaborative Governance--Is Your Community Ready??  This Fall meeting will examine successful models of collaboration involving governments in the U.S. , including examples from rural areas.  New ideas in building regional identity and in academic research on regionalism also will be explored.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 8 and 9, Louisville Metro government will host a pre-Forum ?Lessons from Merger Workshop? for representatives of communities that want to explore the Louisville-Jefferson County merger experience in depth. 

Forum plenary sessions will introduce the Greater Louisville Region and highlight the merger between Louisville and Jefferson County in 2003.  In addition, breakout sessions will focus on new ideas in collaborative governance, creating an identity for and marketing your region, and rural regional stewardship, among others.

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RegionWatch Index