A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
1. Denver mayor promotes regionalism – Kentucky-com - Lexington, KY, USA
When cities cooperate with their regional neighbors, everyone benefits, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told Commerce Lexington members at a breakfast meeting yesterday.
Cooperation with surrounding communities has been a hallmark of Hickenlooper's administration since he was elected four years ago. Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry said he hopes Hickenlooper's style rubs off on Central Kentucky leaders.
Hickenlooper, a geologist turned entrepreneur, had never held public office when he was elected mayor of Denver in 2003.
Soon after taking office, he invited mayors and elected officials from surrounding cities for a get-acquainted session, ushering in an era of bipartisan regional cooperation.
Issues they have tackled regionally include economic development, transportation, arts promotion and merger of fire departments. One of Hickenlooper's first steps was to assure the mayor of Aurora, Colo., that Denver would not try to steal companies from his city.
Any business that wanted to move from Aurora to Denver could move. "For any new jobs they create, we will give them the same incentives we would give to anyone else, " Hickenlooper said. "But the existing job base they have, we will give no incentive for that. We will never try to poach your businesses."
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It matters more that a company moves to the Denver area than specifically where it is located, he said. Denver now has similar agreements with four other large neighbors.
Newberry said regional issues were important in the Bluegrass and he had hoped to move quickly on them when elected 11 months ago. But "a lot of basic, operational issues in urban county government have taken an inordinate amount of time to clean up, " he said.
Lexington's track record as a neighbor "has not been that good. We need to mend wounds we inflicted in the past, " he added.
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RC: Bluegrass Area Development District
2. Feds must help us to weather drought - Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Cobb County Commission chairman Sam Olens is chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission )
Someone has pulled the stopper from the bathtub and all the water is draining out!
Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, as well as most of the Southeast, is in the grip of what may prove to be the worst drought on record. At the same time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing extreme amounts of water from Lake Lanier — our region's key water supply source — to enhance the habitat of two species of mussels and to keep a small coal-fired power plant in operation.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it was considered a natural disaster. Our impending disaster, on the other hand, is man-made, but can be averted by reasoned leadership on the part of President Bush and two federal agencies — the Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Gov. Sonny Perdue filed suit late last week on behalf of the state of Georgia to prevent the Corps of Engineers from completely draining Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River. On Saturday, the governor declared 85 counties disaster areas due to the drought and called upon President Bush to issue a federal disaster declaration and to order less water to be released from the federally controlled Buford Dam/Lake Lanier system.
In addition, Georgia's congressional delegation banded together in a bold and unprecedented move last week to sponsor legislation to suspend the Endangered Species Act under certain conditions of extreme drought, where health and human welfare is at risk.
The elected officials of metro Atlanta's counties and cities thank these officials for their bold efforts. We join them on behalf of the more than 4 million citizens who depend on Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River for our lifeblood — in sending an urgent plea to the Corps of Engineers to act with haste …
3. Counties should curb water-wasting septic tanks - Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
One good outcome of our record drought is that we as a region and a state can finally enact sound water policies.
As a region, we need to direct all new developments to areas served by sewer systems, and we need to start installing water and sewer systems in areas dependent on septic tanks.
Here's why. Households with septic tanks are much poorer stewards of water than households on sewer systems.
"We should be encouraging any new development to occur on sewer systems because homes with septic tanks use seven times as much water as homes on sewer, " says Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "That's because septic tanks don't return water back into the rivers and streams."
Some may debate whether septic tanks have seven times more net consumption of water than sewer. But there's no question that sewer systems flow to sewage treatment plants, which return the treated water to our fragile water supply within days.
By comparison, the water used by septic tanks seeps into the ground, likely taking years before it finds its way to our rivers and streams.
It's a particularly acute problem for metro Atlanta, where about one-fourth of all households in the 16-county area are served by septic tanks.
"That's more septic tanks than any other big metro area in the country, " Williams says.
Worse, of all urban areas, metro Atlanta has more reason to be conservative with water use.
"We are the largest metro area relying on the smallest primary water supply of any other metropolitan area in the United States, " says Jim Durrett, executive director of the Livable Communities Coalition.
So we are a region with the most septic tanks and the most limited supply of water. That's a real problem for metro Atlanta and all the communities downstream.
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4. Transit planning off the rails - Annapolis Capital - Annapolis, MD, USA
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A 30-year outlook compiled by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, which includes Baltimore, its six surrounding counties and Annapolis, was universally panned this summer for its lack of transit planning.
Area officials received the revised plan earlier this month after sending it back to the drawing board. The second go-around shuffles more of the region's anticipated $8 billion federal allotment to transit, but still remains heavy on the road projects, to the dismay of some participating jurisdictions.
The council cut six projects from the plan - none in Anne Arundel - and reallocated the $240 million savings to support expanding the Red Line in Baltimore. Additional transit modes could be included in the next plan, expected in four years, officials said.
"It's going to take some time, " said Harvey Bloom, the council's transportation director. "We're going to be doing a lot of fact gathering and research."
The regional priorities mirror the state's construction slate, which was presented to the County Council last week during an annual visit from Maryland Department of Transportation officials, who pleaded its case for a gas-tax increase. Faced with a $40 billion backlog of projects in Maryland, state officials said they lacked the funds to invest in new - and expensive - transit modes versus cheaper road projects.
Mass-transit advocates said key players have never articulated a single, unified vision for the region's transportation needs.
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"There's no lack of opportunities for discussion, " he said. "The key is the money."
Mr. Leopold said the county needs to mount a "full-court press" to secure the funds necessary to build more transit options.
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5. Expert says Cape needs regionalized public sector - Cape Cod Times - Hyannis, MA, USA
There are 17 school districts on Cape Cod.
Nearly 30 libraries serve the region's 15 towns.
In total, more than 12, 000 workers keep the Cape's government services running, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
If nothing is done to change numbers like these, said demographics expert Peter Francese, the Cape could face an uncertain economic future.
"I would do whatever it took to reduce the overhead associated with the vast number of political entities, " Francese told a group of more than 300 business leaders and policymakers gathered Friday at an economic summit in Hyannis organized by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. "It will be hard, but the fact of the matter is it is essential for your survival."
To achieve this goal, Francese suggested regionalization: collaboration by multiple communities to provide certain services.
When he introduced the idea, he acknowledged that the approach may not be popular given New England's strong tradition of local government.
...
Many summit attendees were cautiously enthusiastic.
"If we did more regional planning, we could still deliver a certain level of service but at lesser cost, " Steve Abbott, president and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare, said yesterday.
...
Paul Niedzwiecki, the new executive director of the Cape Cod Commission and former assistant town manager of Barnstable, said that it may be difficult to consolidate existing services such as schools and emergency services.
New initiatives, such as alternative energy projects, may be easier to regionalize, he said.
Other participants in the economic summit pointed out some of the barriers to regionalization.
Chamber chairman Richard Neitz on Friday said that the idea should be looked at, but also expressed concern about municipal workers who could lose their jobs if certain functions are consolidated.
...
6. Editorial: Still a priority - Allied News - Grove City, PA, USA
Basic access still needs to be at the top of the list
The annual conference of the Appalachian Regional Commission was held last week in Charleston, and while this federal agency was quick to trumpet the positive trickle-down on money it has spent in its never-ending battle on rural poverty, the stark reality of the situation is that the region may likely never catch up with the rest of the country.
ARC has long been looked upon as being the catalyst for piecing together financing on basic infrastructure projects, namely water, sewer and highways. It has more recently gotten into providing fiscal support for Internet access and other telecommunications needs.
All quality of life services that are needed — again, the basics.
But as was the case when the ARC was formed in the 1960s, the challenges to provide the basics remain monumental.
A trio of areas present the most pressing needs — one, funding; two, new construction; and three, maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure.
According to a two-year study conducted by Jeff Hughes, director of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $40 billion alone is needed to simply provide water and sewer to those in Appalachia who still go without.
No matter how you figure it, that’s staggering.
Hughes labeled it a “big, scary number, ” but encouraged those making the decisions not to let it stop them from moving forward. He suggested pooling resources as one possible way to deal with some of the needed new projects.
That’s the way most infrastructure projects in Appalachia happen already and we believe it is an approach that should be followed.
But Hughes also warned of some other unsettling issues as it pertains to water and sewer.
...
7. Commission urges regionalizing water - News 14 Carolina - Raleigh, NC, USA
With water sources across the state running dry, the State Water Infrastructure Commission is considering ways regionalization could help.
"We have the ability, now I believe, to step up and to influence some of the thinking around what happens going forward with regard to water management [and] water infrastructure, " said Jean Crews-Klein, who is with the State Water Infrastructure Commission.
For more than one year, the group has looked at the pros and cons of regionalizing community water systems. Altogether, North Carolina has more than 500 publicly-run water systems, meaning they are run by cities, towns or counties.
The commission's primary conclusion is that the state should remove barriers to regional cooperation but only in places where it makes sense. The group says regional agreements will not necessarily work for communities separated by far distances.
"We really need to be looking at all possible things that we can do to encourage [regionalization] in the face of what we're facing now, ” Crews-Klein explained.
Almost the entire state is facing a drought that keeps getting worse. Forecasting trends show it will not get better anytime soon.
"We've never seen the likes of it. A drought is always supposed to be a slow-moving creature, but not in this case, " said Woody Yonts, who is with the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.
The State Water Infrastructure Commission says a sharing agreement would benefit communities during such a drought. One way is by allowing them to pull water from more than one source.
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8. City approves agreement for joint police taskforce
C&G Newspapers - Detroit, MI, USA
A special police unit with members from Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Royal Oak and Ferndale will continue to be funded, officials announced last week.
On Oct. 8, City Council approved an agreement between the member cities that will continue to fund the Southeast Oakland County Crime Suppression Task Force. The plan formalizes the taskforce for the first time in its 10-year history.
“CSTF has been very successful in meeting its goals, ” Madison Heights Police Chief Kevin Sagan wrote to City Council, “and assisting agencies’ detectives in addressing criminal activity through surveillance, detection and criminal apprehension.”
The group also includes officers from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police, which are in charge of the taskforce’s operations.
“The Police Department has been working with that unit ever since it was set up with a grant, ” said City Manager Jon Austin. “We’re all funding it now. They never formalized themselves as a group, but they continued to function.”
Austin said a number of concerns arose in recent years about the structure of the special taskforce. An advisory panel approved a plan in recent weeks to create a so-called “interlocal agreement, ” which outlines the group’s structure and the responsibilities of the member cities.
“The question has come up about everybody’s responsibilities for insurance and things like that, ” said Austin. “The best way to formalize the group would be to establish an ‘interlocal agreement.’ Nothing changes other than we’ve created an agreement.”
Under the plan, each member-city must provide the taskforce with one officer, a police vehicle and all the accoutrements that the officer might need to perform his duties.
Austin dismissed the idea that the agreement is another attempt at joining services between cities in southeastern Oakland County. The group has been operating since 1997, Austin said, and the agreement is not connected to plans to join the fire departments of these same member-cities.
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9. Small Schools' Big Tech Dreams – Business Week – USA
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The Tech Transfer Payoff
The study, prepared by Innovation Associates, a consulting firm in Reston, Va., highlighted a number of smaller programs that are developing new technologies through academic research, licensing the inventions, and helping launch businesses that use them. With fewer resources than the big players, however, these schools have to think creatively to contribute to the greater economic development of their state or region.
Technology transfer, the process of turning scholarly work into a marketable and practical product or service, spans a broad range of possibilities. In other words, it's not necessarily about coming up with the next iPod. "Innovation is not always high-tech, " says Diane Palmintera, president of Innovation Associates and lead author of the study. "Innovation and new technology businesses can be based on advancement in different fields."
Leveraging the strengths of a university, Palmintera adds, can help it compete. For example, she says the University of Pittsburgh is finding success by getting funding from the National Institutes of Health and spinning off biotechnology businesses and Iowa State University carved out a niche in agriculture.
Engines of Local Development
One of the concepts that infuses the entrepreneurial culture of such programs in rural areas is "think globally, act locally." Because the school provides licenses or seed funding and office space, the companies often feel indebted to it and to the state or region. As a result, all parties involved share the goal of contributing to the economic development of the university's home state, region, or even country, depending on the potential magnitude of the business at hand.
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Use It or Lose It
Universities have always played a role in economic development. After all, it's their responsibility to educate the workforce and keep U.S. employees ahead of the pack, …
10. U.S. regional communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles. Highlighted words are Google search terms. In this and the following section, links to websites of organizations are added to the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in the
.10 No plans for Tennessee River to quench Ga.
Knoxville News Sentinel - Knoxville, TN, USA
Georgia, Alabama and Florida, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have been locked in a long-running dispute over a river basin shared by the three states. Ultimately, Reece said, there may need to be a federal water plan that looks at water supply issues on a countrywide basis to avoid those kinds of regional battles. ...
.11 Development a regional effort, local experts say
Chillicothe Gazette – OH, USA
"While economic development is local, it's a regional game, " Barbash said. "The urban areas are as dependent on the rural areas as the rural areas are dependent on the success of urban communities."
.12 Federal government awards second grant to IU and Purdue for regional competitiveness
Indiana University - Bloomington, IN, USA
The US Economic Development Administration awarded the $349865 grant to Purdue's Center for Regional Development and the Indiana Business Research Center at ...
.13 Leaders: Cooperation a must to solve water problems
Tucson Citizen - Tucson, AZ, USA
Though Tucson Water serves about 80 percent of the region, there are dozens of governments and water providers that will have to be involved in planning, ...
.14 Safe water a tough issue
Muskogee Daily Phoenix - Muskogee, OK, USA
Joe Harrington, deputy executive director of Eastern Oklahoma Development District, said regionalization of drinking water supplies will be one of the most ...
.15 Dow supports Bay Y in regional effort
Midland Daily News - Midland, MI, USA
"Regionalization is our chance, and perhaps our only chance, to transform mid-Michigan into an exciting hub of economic opportunity — one that attracts the ...
.16 BILLS EYE TORONTO TILT
National Post - Canada
"This extension of the regionalization effort is designed to enhance the viability and competitiveness of the franchise in Western New York. ...
.17 Chamber summit looks at consolidating services
Youngstown Vindicator - Youngstown, OH, USA
The chamber presented experts during a Regionalization Summit at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex on the concept. They urged local officials to get behind its ...
.18 Mid-Atlantic designated national electric power corridor
TimesCommunity.com - Leesburg, VA, USA
To almost nobody's surprise, the federal government last week designated a big portion of the mid-Atlantic region a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. …
.19 Cincinnati was wise to invest in clean water
Cincinnati Post - OH, USA
Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dahoney is now studying whether to transform GCWW from a city department into a regionally focused water district. ...
.20 Landrieu announces tourism push for north Louisiana
Shreveport Times - Shreveport, LA, USA
"Partnerships are critically important, especially when it involves regional cooperation, and especially when it means leveraging all of your assets. ...
.21 TCOG celebrates federal grants to local cities
Sherman Denison Herald Democrat - Sherman, TX, USA
Texoma Council of Governments last week celebrated 2006-2007 federal grants to local communities and approved further spending on communications equipment to improve emergency response. …
.22 Our opinion: Recent weeks bring more sour notes on regionalism
Lansing State Journal - Lansing, MI, USA
And leadership on regionalism means cooperation. Yet, this month, the city of Lansing thought it necessary to send a letter to Lansing Township over sewer ...
.23 National Association of Regional Councils
Kansas City Star - MO, USA
Mission: To advocate for regional cooperation as the most effective way to address a variety of community planning and development opportunities and issues. ...
.24 Economist: Going green pays dividends
By WMNF
But while regional cooperation seems to have worked in Portland, Dingfelder was concerned about whether all of the city and county governments of the Tampa Bay region could put aside their differences and work together for regional ...
.25 Advantage looks back at the year
Charleston Gazette - Charleston, WV, USA
"Let's promote regionalism and a regional identity, " she said. "It's a concerted effort." This year has been a year of transition, with Herron joining as ...
.26 County executive candidates discuss water, cooperation
Utica Observer Dispatch - Utica, NY, USA
Today, they answer questions about the recent water shortage and fostering regional cooperation. Look for their answers to previous questions on the Oneida ...
.27 Rural Economic Development Study to be Expanded
Inside INdiana Business (press release) - Indianapolis, IN, USA
The study is being conducted by Purdue University's Center for Regional Development and the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley ...
.28 Lobbying isn't the problem, corruption is
Los Angeles Times - CA, USA
You need someone to state your case to the guy behind the counter, the Area Planning Commission, the full Planning Commission, the City Council and the ...
.29 NM magazine wins two regional awards
Bizjournals-com - Charlotte, NC, USA
The International Regional Magazine Association gave the New Mexico publication a silver award for most improved magazine for 2007, placing it second behind ...
.30 FSC Certification Endorsed by Cascadia Region Green Building Council
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
The service includes news on the regional FSC industry, random profiles of FSC certified companies in the Northwest, and analysis articles on wood ...
.31 Rural vets are a dying breed
Houston Chronicle - United States
"We got to focus on more regionalized (animal) hospitals instead of single-man practices." When Golla left school he started a mixed-animal practice in ...
11. Other in the news: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 New unit to help make dist plans
Newindpress - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
The State Government has decided to create District Planning and Monitoring Unit (DPMU) in each district to extend support to the district to extend support to the district planning committee in the formulation of district plan....
.11 BC rejects idea of metro police
Globe and Mail - Canada
BC has set up several cross-jurisdictional policing teams that draw members from municipal forces and the RCMP to deal with specific areas of crime. ...
.12 Arab world faces serious intellectual challenge
Khaleej Times - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
... prominent Arab thinkers, researchers and academics to formulate strategies to raise the standard of knowledge, research and university education in the region....
.13 Come home, Queenslanders
NEWS-com-au - Australia
In a bid to help alleviate the state's skills crisis, the Department of Regional Development has developed the slogan: "Come home, Queenslanders – it's a ...
.14 Halton Region's 2007-2010 Strategic Plan now available
By Office of the Chairman
The published 2007-2010 Halton Region Strategic Plan is now available and online at www.halton.ca/strategicplan. Halton Regional Council approved the Strategic Plan earlier this year after a process involving Council workshops and ...
.15 Sweden’s Regional Programmes
European Business Guide - Brussels, Belgium
… for the first time, the EU cohesion policy programs cover the whole territory of Sweden i.e. the regions of Västsverige, Skåne-Blekinge, Östra Mellansverige, Stockholm, Övre Norrland, Norra Mellansverige, Småland och Öarna and Mellersta Norrland.
.16 25 - Super Regions infra projects finished by 2010
Balita-org - Minsterley, England, UK
Through the Super Regions concept, Ebdane said, development is being brought back to the people at a faster rate in terms of physical infrastructure, development of human capital and peaceful communities. ...
.17 Africa: Region Can Learn From 15th Century Portugal and Spain
AllAfrica.com - Washington, USA
The kings of Portugal supported Royal cartographers (map makers) who, with great hunger, grabbed all information brought in by traders to make maps. ...
.18 'Still surviving'
St. John's Telegram - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
In the case of harbour authorities, regionalization might be one of the few escape hatches for some. “I think regionalization may be the way to go in the ...
.19 Arena, water will stay on track
Brooks Bulletin - Alberta, Canada
The arena and water regionalization plans will follow the path laid out by the previous council, said Shields. He also indicated that he will be resigning ...
.20 Challenges ahead in institutional reform
China Daily - China
The core of central-regional government relations is the distribution of power while the changing of government functions is the premise and basis to ...
.21 China in new phase of world integration
China Daily - China
... participating in and promoting international and regional cooperation, getting proactive about peace-keeping and peace-building missions and extending ...
.22 China: New Leaders, Old Problems
Business Week - USA
A more balanced development focus also points to Beijing's intention to promote regional growth across China so that the inner provinces don't continue to ...
12. Blogs: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 Rust Belt Diaspora
By Jim Russell(Jim Russell)
The hypothesis is that a city's connectivity with its urban peers is displacing the importance of the economic interdependence within a region. In this regard, regionalization fails to improve a city's place in the global economy. ...
.11 Chicago, Indiana
Regionalism means to consider Chicago as a metropolitan area beyond its city limits and to include its surrounding counties when it comes to planning and development. But what makes up this larger area? ...
.12 Regionalism: Can't we all just get along? (Wednesday, October 24)
Now, if our elected officials can't make these kinds of decisions together, what about the big decisions that real regionalism will demand? On the other hand, maybe this is a sign of progress. After all, nobody said it would be easy. ...
.13 BFD Learning Moment: Denver puts regional collaboration into practice
By Ed Morrison
They learned how Denver is putting regionalism into practice. For example, Denver financed their convention center with a eight county tax. They changed the name from the Denver Convention Center to the Colorado Convention Center. ...
.14 edmonton election 2007: the undiscovered country.
By daveberta(daveberta)
Unless the provincial government takes a strong role in creating a regional cooperation and cost-sharing framework, it will be unlikely that the dozens of cities, towns, villages, and counties in the region will come to a decision ...
.15 Important Legislative Updates
By David Billings(David Billings)
Recommendation of changes to remove barriers to regional cooperation. 3. Recommendation of measures to ensure municipal fiscal stability. 4. Recommendation of changes to improve incentives to regional cooperation ...
.16 Rise of the the Mega-Regions
By Creative Class Group
... in the first quarter of the year, New York City's economy grew by 4 per cent. Our own research confirms this. So, hot off the press here's a link to our new research identifying the 40 mega-regions that truly drive the world economy. …
.17 Texas Triangle a Top 10 Global Mega-Region
By Tory Gattis(Tory Gattis)
Unfortunately, something in their methodology led them to split Texas into two mega-regions, the Dallas-San Antonio corridor, and the Houston-New Orleans corridor, extending all the way the Florida panhandle (see map on p.27). ...
.18 Citizens response improves Baltimore regional transportation planning
By Richard Layman(Richard Layman)
For more general details about the process of the 2035 regional plan, click here. Here is what the Baltimore Metropolitan Council says about the changes brought about by public response:. Based on significant public input on the need ...
.19 Taxing Our Way Out of Congestion
By James Edward Maule(James Edward Maule)
The story explains that the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission released a study in which in concluded that a viable way to ease congestion would be to impose local taxes or fees. The Commission looked at 23 different taxes and ...
.20 "Louisiana Speaks" Joins the Blogosphere
By Lamar White, Jr
Regional evacuation and economic development projects such as I-49 from Lafayette to metro New Orleans, La. 20/24 from Houma to I-10, and US 165 north of Lake Charles · Key local connections with regional evacuation and economic ...
.21 Are Competitive MLSs Possible or Desireable?
By Michael Wurzer
The demand for regionalization is based on real pain (inefficiency) being experienced by large, regional brokers dealing with multiple MLSs having disparate rules and data sets across many boundaries. Forming regional MLSs, however, ...
.22 The Organization of American States: On its deathbed?
By admin
Regionalism has shown that it is an important intermediate step on the path toward internationalism; how can a disruptive and fragmented region possibly assert itself on the world stage? Therefore, while Chávez and other populist ...
.23 Regionalism for Development
By Supachai Panitchpakdi
In particular, our research found that developing countries should strengthen regional cooperation with other developing countries, and proceed carefully with regard to North-South bilateral agreements. ...
.24 Excessive Nationalism and Blurring of Local Identities
By Sujai
Excessive nationalism when not really in use sometimes vents itself as other isms- such as regionalism or communalism. As a corollary, certain groups starting out with parochial and radical regionalisms and communalisms get legitimacies ...
.25 On a safe place
By G Hansson(G Hansson)
In Skåne the experience of regional government is considerable and the opinion firm in favour of regionalism. In Gävle the debate hasn't started yet. The new central leadership talks about the "New Moderaterna". ...
.26 Political Stability and Infrastructure.
By marta13
The EU has been very successful in accomplishing its goals by the help of present informal capitalism and regionalization. The regionalization does not mean one country, instead it is known as one economy. The richer members facilitate ...
.27 The Platform of the Democratic Party of Virginia
By The Richmond Democrat(The Cheshire Cat)
We also support regional cooperation to foster growth across political boundaries in urban and rural areas. We support Enterprise zones in central cities. We favor continuing efforts to preserve family farms through funding of the ...
.28 Announcement: Regional Studies conferences
By Ryan Lanham
Registration is now open for the following Regional Studies Association Conferences: Regional Studies Association Winter Conference "Transport, Mobility and Regional Development" Friday 23rd November 2007, London, UK Further Details: ...
.29 "Des Moines. Do More." Campaign featured in the New York Times
The Partnership's "Des Moines. Do More." marketing program was the subject of a piece in an e-email publication of the New York Times. Times reporter Stuart Elliott compiled the piece about the Partnership's use of digital media in its ...
.30 About ASEAN
By denith(Laibeus Lord)
... the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Rio Group, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the South Pacific Forum, and through the recently established Asian-African Sub-Regional Organisation Conference. ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links
.10 Blueprint for American Prosperity: Unleashing the Potential of a Metropolitan Nation - November 6, 2007 – The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
On November 6—one year out from the ‘08 elections—the Metropolitan Policy Program will launch a new national competitiveness initiative, Blueprint for American Prosperity: Unleashing the Potential of a Metropolitan Nation. The Blueprint offers a powerful and compelling argument: The ability of the United States to compete globally and to meet the great economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21st century rest largely on the health, vitality and prosperity of the nation’s major cities and metropolitan areas.
.11 Regional Equity '08: The Third National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth - March 5-7, 2008 - New Orleans
Regional growth and development patterns have profound implications for how we live. They determine whether we live near quality jobs that allow us to support our families; whether we live in healthy communities with access to public transit and quality-of-life amenities; and whether our communities are plagued with poor air and water quality, deteriorating schools, and inadequately maintained roads and bridges.
Regional Equity ’08 will offer participants a venue for in-depth exploration of the groundbreaking achievements, innovative strategies, and lasting policies that connect low-income/low-wealth communities to resources and opportunity. In New Orleans, where the world bore painful witness to the lingering inequities this society still faces, we will build on the issues that were framed at the Philadelphia Summit in May 2005. ...
.12 Florida Regional Community Policing Institute
The Florida Regional Community Policing Institute (RCPI) at St. Petersburg College provides progressive public safety training in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Cutting edge topics include: planning and responding to WMD incidents, human trafficking, ethics and integrity, sexual predator/offender awareness, dealing with the mentally ill, and problem solving strategies in community policing. Many of these courses are available online. Award-winning interactive school safety CD-ROMs and videos, written for today's young people, are available nationwide to schools, law enforcement and youth organizations.
.13 UN ECA Regional Cooperation and Integration Division
The sub-programme on regional cooperation and integration aims at promoting policies, methods and strategies for increasing regional and subregional cooperation through implementation of sectoral integration, in particular the development of trade and movement of information and persons and for utilization of minerals and other natural resources in Africa as a basis for African integration and the establishment of the African Economic Community. ...
14. Google News for “Regional Community”
Other menu sections available from this link include: regions, regional, regional community, region, Regional Council, regional development and other search terms. They can be sorted by date or relevance. These are among the 50 search terms I use to produce this newsletter.
My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see regions work." Regional Community Development News is published weekly based on news reports as of Wednesday.
Making visible analysis and actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities. "Think local planet, act regionally, " is my candidate paradigm. (No one said we're only allowed one paradigm.)
We can see that “regional communities” are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional regional community has DNA: it is geographically Defined; has a common Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation, reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to see the regional communities that already exist.
News references are found using the Google News search service. Media article links are “fair use” to transform globally scattered reports to make regional approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be seen by new customers. “Regional” is an emerging news category. There is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use, though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.
To read and search previous issues go to: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/
The term “Development” was added to the name in January, 2006.
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Editions since April 11, 2007 can also be found at: http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/
Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@comcast.net or Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP Making regions visible for Leaders and Problem-solvers. www.regionalintelligence.com or www.regions.ws
