Earlier this week, I spent two days in Washington, DC with a group of colleagues from Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. We attended an Urban Leaders Summit sponsored by an organization called CEO’s For Cities. The topic was "How Next Generation Cities Win" and focused on how successful cities will develop, attract and retain talented residents and workers, and how we can more effectively engage our citizens in leadership at the grassroots level and in setting policy for their communities. We also heard from a number of people from within President Obama’s administration about the issues, priorities, and opportunities during this period of great change.
The value of this conference came from more than just the content of the presentations. The opportunity to share ideas and learn about successful programs from fellow practitioners in urban development from around the country provided the greatest value. My organization, Vision 2015, is responsible for facilitating collaboration between various organizations in order to accomplish a 10-Year Strategic Plan for Northern Kentucky. The plan was developed by over 2000 people throughout our community who came together in 2005 to set priorities and identify strategies that will help us to compete more effectively in the global economy of the 21st Century. In Cincinnati, a companion organization, Agenda 360, established a similar plan for Southwest Ohio last year. One of the benefits of our time together was a strengthening of the collaborative relationship between the Ohio and Kentucky organizations.
Some of the most striking ideas and information that I took away from the conference were related to how small changes can have large impacts. Research information was provided showing that if the 51 largest metropolitan areas in the country, in which we are included, could increase the number of 4-year college graduates by just 1%, it would increase total personal income in these regions by $124 billion per year. In like manner, if we could reduce the poverty rate in these 51 regions by 1%, it would save over $13 billion per year that would not only improve the lives of these citizens, but could also be used to provide other vital public services. Seeing the large effects of small steps forward helps to focus our attention on ways we can help our own region progress.
One of the most thought provoking presentations for me was made by the co-founder of a cross-media games development company that produces "mobile games with invisible characters that move through real-world spaces." Their Facebook game "Parking Wars" served over 1 billion pages in 2008. His presentation on how these mobile games can be used to actually bring people together in the physical world and promote greater engagement in their communities was fascinating. It’s this type of innovation that will help us to be successful in a rapidly changing world.
The most significant impression I brought back was about how much solid research exists that makes it clear that increasing the educational level in our communities can dramatically increase our economic vitality. In terms of focusing our efforts, that was really enlightening.
Bill Scheyer is President of Vision 2015.