A compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
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Contents
Top Regional Community stories … 1. – 9.
U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State – news articles … 10.01 - .24
Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .22
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .14
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .06
Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 14
Top Regional Community stories
When Americans look to rebuild their cities, they often look for guidance to a couple of North American models, such as Portland or Toronto, and at European cities. But there is something to learn from Asian cities.
For example, could a relatively small city such as Hartford, with a population of 120, 000, learn something from a mega-city such as of Shanghai, population 17 million?
Perhaps.
In 2008, the world has crossed a historic demographic watershed, with more than half of its population now living in urban areas.
As urban growth accelerates and cities grow stronger, they become more autonomous actors and competitors in the global economy. Regional governance, or the lack of it, becomes significant for cities. In this sense, Shanghai and its surrounding region may offer a lesson or two for the much smaller Hartford city and region — and vice-versa.
As the region around Hartford has generally prospered, Hartford has fallen further behind because it is hemmed by its administrative and geographic limitations. Hartford has suffered from a more protracted loss of manufacturing jobs and residential growth because of market competition, corporate relocation and individual choice. But all is not gloom.
Though manufacturing has dropped dramatically in the city, it still provides 13.5 percent of the jobs in the 52-town Hartford labor market. The city remains a top national and global insurance center, ranked third nationally and 15th globally in 2006.
Insurance, finance, and real estate jobs made up 14 percent of total employment in the Hartford labor market, up from less than 10 percent in the 1990s.
But many believe the Hartford city-region could become more competitive if transportation, housing, employment and service provision were to be on a regional scale. That is what happens in Shanghai.
As Beijing is gearing up to stage the Olympics ...
RC: CRCOG
2. Cities cooperate to accumulate - guardian-co-uk – UK
Are conurbations outside London close to getting at least some of the powers enjoyed by the capital's mayor in fields from transport to economic development? Twenty-two years after six big areas - or city-regions, in the new parlance - lost a form of governance, signs are emerging that cooperation between groups of councils could be leading to potentially exciting structures.
While ministers, and council leaders, are stressing that emerging arrangements fall short of governance in the strictest sense, 10 councils in Greater Manchester have agreed to establish an executive board, comprising town hall leaders; a series of commissions will oversee conurbation-wide transport policy, alongside the environment, economic matters, strategic housing, planning and, hopefully, health.
The key to unlocking this groundbreaking deal, which has involved lengthy negotiations with local government minister John Healey, is a multi-area agreement (MAA), a concordat between councils and the government, likely to be signed next month. Under this, Greater Manchester's authorities will agree to a series of collective targets over, say, cutting congestion, raising the skills base and creating jobs. In turn, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (RDA), a well-funded quango with a remit to improve the economy of a large area stretching from Cheshire to the Scottish border, will devolve some of its power and money to a Greater Manchester enterprise board.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester city council, says they have achieved agreement ahead of other conurbations because councils of all political persuasions - only five in the conurbation are now Labour controlled - have been determined to sink party differences in the interests of the sub-regional economy. While individual councils will not lose any power, Leese stresses that the executive will add considerable value by coordinating strategy across traditional council boundaries.
Progress elsewhere depends on local councillors forgetting those narrow differences. …
3. Regional transit plan goes to Triangle leaders - WRAL.com, NC
A citizen advisory group making recommendations for a multibillion-dollar regional transit system for the Triangle presented its final report to area leaders and transportation officials Wednesday.
But it comes with mixed reactions from community members, some of whom question whether the plan is right for the area at this time.
The Special Transit Advisory Commission has spent a year developing the proposed combination of buses, rail systems and "circulators" that, it says, is needed to help meet the area's growing transportation needs and to help the region compete for new industry and better jobs.
Among its key recommendations:
* An enhanced bus network throughout the Triangle that includes express service to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport and rush-hour-only bus service to outlying communities.
* Rail service stretching 56 miles from Chapel Hill to north Raleigh, utilizing diesel rail cars and Light Rail Transit.
* "Circulators" – initially buses and possibly later, streetcars or trolleys – operating in downtown areas and combined with a system of park-and-ride lots.
Fifty percent of funding for the system would come from local governments and 25 percent each from the state and federal governments. The local portion would come from a proposed half-cent sales-tax increase and a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees.
"Eventually, the pain will be too great, and you'll have to do it, " said Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance, a proponent of the plan and the sales-tax increase.
…
4. Northeast Ohio leaders form plan for regional cooperation - The Plain Dealer - Cleveland., OH
Local-government leaders in unprecedented numbers came together Thursday to endorse plans to share their local tax dollars and surrender some autonomy for the region's greater good.
The leaders - from aging major cities, suburban boomtowns and rural hamlets across 16 counties - endorsed radical "regionalism" plans emerging from the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association.
…
The rough outlines, as the movement's leaders see them:
Regional planning bodies would get much more say in decisions about where to build new roads, highways, water and sewer lines and other such infrastructure. The spread of infrastructure opens the doors to development in outlying areas. That weakens older cities and spreads limited resources ever more thinly, like a pat of butter over a supersized slice of bread. Sprawl also destroys farmland and damages rural character and the environment, opponents say.
Part of all new money from future commercial and industrial growth - about 40 percent of new property tax and 20 percent of new income tax - would go into a regional revenue-sharing pool. That would be distributed among localities according to need. The revenue sharing would ensure that all cities and residents prosper from economic growth in the region.
The association's declared goal: to stop city-against-city competition for jobs, investment and progress and instead package Northeast Ohio into a united competitor in the global marketplace.
"We are in this together, " Currin said. "Everybody contributes. And everybody benefits."
But the most controversial details remain to be worked out. Among the volatile considerations: how to divvy up the tax pool; how much planning and zoning autonomy cities, villages and townships would surrender; and how changes in tax structure could affect schools. Also, the changes would require new state laws.
...
5. NIAGARA COUNTY: Less government could mean more business - Niagara Gazette - Niagara Falls, NY, USA
A prominent Wheatfield developer on Thursday encouraged leaders in Niagara County to strongly consider consolidation as a way to help make the area more attractive to the investment community.
Addressing the crowd gathered at Niagara County’s third annual Summit for Economic Success held in North Tonawanda, real estate developer Kenneth Franasiak said reducing the cost of the infrastructure in Western New York was vitally important to capturing investment dollars that are currently being lost despite the region’s proximity to the Toronto area, one of the fastest growing population and commercial centers in all of North America.
“These are issues that need to be addressed now, ” said Franasiak, the president and chief executive officer of Calamar Enterprises Inc., Niagara County’s largest real estate development company.
While proximity to the border, the current value of the Canadian dollar and the availability of cheap property make Niagara County an attractive spot for business owners, Franasiak said its 20 municipalities, 10 school districts, 20 fire departments and five hospitals all add up to an infrastructure too costly for private investors to support.
“We, as an investor, see cracks, ” he said.
Franasiak, developer of the $250 million Woodlands Corporate Center in Wheatfield, called for increased cooperation from leaders in Niagara and Erie counties and stronger consideration for what he called “strategically forced regionalism.”
Without it, he said, the region will not be able to capitalize on the billions of dollars of cross-border commerce taking place in and around Toronto, an area that he said is poised to become a veritable “wild west” of commercial development in a matter of years.
“We’ve got to look at our neighbors for cooperation, ” he said.
The Summit for Economic Success, sponsored by the county’s Office of Economic Development, brings together business owners and community leaders ...
6. Dallas among cities targeting metal thieves - Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX, USA
With thefts of metals such as copper running rampant, regional officials are urging all North Texas cities to adopt ordinances making it harder for thieves to sell their loot.
Mesquite recently passed its first such measure even though no metal recyclers operate within its borders, and Dallas and Garland are considering similar regulations.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments has pointed to the Dallas proposal as a model.
It includes stronger provisions to identify sellers and a longer hold period before scrap metals could be processed for reuse.
"These ordinances are looked at as a deterrent to the theft in the first place, " said Michael Eastland, executive director of the Council of Governments.
He said the regional effort is needed so thieves in a city with tough restrictions can't simply go to a neighboring city that lacks them.
"If thieves can't get rid of goods, they don't have the incentive to steal them, " he said.
But some scrap metal recyclers are concerned that the ordinances would be too piecemeal, would do little to stop the thefts and would hurt reputable recyclers.
"If governments really want to deter thefts, make the punishment the deterrent, " said Bill Becker, president of Garland Steel Inc. "When thieves are caught – and they are caught every day – put them in jail for two years, not two days or two weeks."
He noted that most recyclers already follow the recently toughened state law by making sure people selling metals provide government-issued identification.
But last month, the Council of Governments executive board urged municipalities within the 16-county North Texas area to adopt tougher ordinances such as the one Dallas is considering.
The city, which has regulated scrap metal sales for more than a decade, is considering requiring recyclers to pay sellers with mailed checks instead of cash and ...
7. Trim layers of local governments - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester, NY, USA
The Commission of Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness has submitted recommendations to Gov. David Paterson that will lead to sweeping changes in the way counties, cities, towns and villages function.
...
Clearly, some things must change! In New York, 3, 159 general and special-purpose governments (counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts and fire districts) spent more than $131.5 billion in 2005 (the last year reports were available), and that number easily exceeds $150 billion today. Another 1, 900 special districts eat away at our economic competitiveness.
This is clearly too much government, too much spending, too much debt. We long ago ceased to live within our means. We can't afford to maintain an antiquated, bloated system with an insatiable appetite. Indiana, Maine and New Jersey are taking steps to reduce support for small, inefficient governments and encourage consolidation of local services. They understand the nexus between high taxes and large numbers of governmental units. Our state must follow the same course.
The commission charted a pragmatic course, which relies on state and local cooperation, not forced state mandates. In areas where laws, regulations and constitutional restrictions make such cooperation difficult or impossible, we recommend changes. Where localities are willing to consolidate or share services, we recommend financial and technical incentives. The 200 ideas emanating from the Local Initiatives process need to be strongly supported to fruition. Properly nurtured, they will spark real reform in this state, which reluctant municipalities will be encouraged to replicate.
...
None of these changes will be possible without citizens' support. For too long they have been persuaded that any reduction in government structures is antithetical to their best interests. Yet these same citizens demand lower taxes. We must prove the nexus between higher taxes and large numbers of governments. We must demonstrate that efficient government can improve their lives.
...
8. Kenner wants its say on airport - The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - New Orleans, LA, USA
Kenner officials have begun seeking a voice in a business-sponsored move to have New Orleans sell Louis Armstrong International Airport to the state.
"Our people have to put up with a lot, and therefore we can't be ignored. Kenner is ground zero, " Mayor Ed Muniz said after a meeting with three business leaders who crafted the plan. "I want to make sure the people who put up with progress won't be adversely affected."
Muniz said he met Thursday with Tim Coulon, executive director of the Jefferson Business Council and formerly a Jefferson Parish president and Superdome Commission chairman; Ron Forman, the Audubon Institute CEO and current Dome chairman; and Jim Hudson, chairman of Omni Bank. They worked on Global New Orleans -- A Vision for Change, which proposes regional control of the airport.
Louisiana House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, is sponsoring House Bill 1272 to establish a new regional board to oversee airport operations. In the proposal, New Orleans would sell Louis Armstrong International to the state and use the money -- perhaps a half-billion dollars -- for redevelopment in the city.
As written, Tucker's bill calls for two board appointees to be from Jefferson Parish, but it doesn't require that they be from Kenner.
"By and large I'm supportive of regionalization of governance of the airport, but under the bill that's currently up here, Kenner loses, " Kenner City Councilman Joe Stagni said Thursday from Baton Rouge, where he went to lobby Tucker and Kenner legislators. "No one has more of a direct impact than the citizens of the city of Kenner, and we should have some kind of representation on any authority that is formed to govern and regulate the airport."
He said Tucker and other legislators are open to amending the bill to specify Kenner representation. ...
9. County governance not far off - Gulf News - Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
An issue is about to resurface that will make the new waste management measures look minor.
Someone, somewhere - or rather, some people in some places - are talking about bringing all communities together and dividing them into neat little counties so that no community in the province will exist outside of a boundary line of one county or another.
Yes, it's the "R" word again and it's cropping up in several different places.
The regionalization concept, last floated back about 10 years ago, was met with much opposition from leaders in the Codroy Valley. And why wouldn't it? Residents there pay a modest fee for garbage collection and water fees in comparison to the sometimes lofty property tax bills that businesses and homeowners in structured municipalities are expected to pay.
Residents of the valley are happy living in this environment. They understand that services available in larger centres where municipal taxes exist are not offered to them, and they know why. But it's been their choice.
Likewise, people choose to live in municipalities because they are satisfied to pay taxes to help cover the cost of extra services, such as sidewalks, access to water and sewerage systems and recreational opportunities. They might not like it, but they understand why they pay property, poll and business taxes.
The looming problem will develop when the choice is no longer available. And that is what would happen if a county government system were implemented. Yes, it is a few years into the future, but the provincial government didn't announce in its recent budget that funding is available for the study of county governments just for fun.
...
10. U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles.
Bold font words are Google search terms. Bold italic words considered worth noting. In this and section 11, 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 U.S. in a news story as well as recognizing other regional organizations. In most cases, where a full name is present, a Google search will quickly get one to that organization. News reports do not always get the organization name correct. Contents
.01 $900000 available in grants for regional cooperation
The Plain Dealer - Cleveland, OH, USA
State officials did not dictate what kind of regional cooperation would be funded under the Local Government and Regional Collaboration Grant Program. ...
.02 EarthLink to Remove Philadelphia Wi-Fi
PC World
Unless a deal to hand over the network can be salvaged, it will be a somber ending to the project that put municipal Wi-Fi on the map in the U.S. just three years ago. ...
.03 Cities start own efforts to speed up broadband
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC
U.S. now lags behind a growing number of countries in the speed, cost and availability of high-speed Internet. While cable and telecom companies are spending billions to upgrade their services, they're focusing their efforts mostly on larger U.S. cities, for now. Smaller communities such as Chattanooga say they need to fill the vacuum themselves or risk falling further behind and losing highly-paid jobs. ...
.04 Reunified state agency could best serve all regions
Buffalo News - NY, United States
If the state says that upstate and downstate have to compete for the economic development funds, then Long Island — and the rest of downstate — will compete hard, using all of the political clout available to us. But we are all in the same, leaky economic boat. What we need, and have never had, is a statewide economic development plan that makes sense for both upstate and downstate.
.05 Funds sought for study of central water system
Baltimore Sun - United States
County and municipal leaders are moving forward with a partnership that would establish one regional water system ... BRAC, the nationwide military base expansion, is expected to bring about 10, 000 more jobs to Aberdeen Proving Ground in the next few years....
.06 Report says SoCal needs $531 billion for transit
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
The region will need that much money to maintain its roads, build more busways, make freeway improvements and build new systems such as high-tech trains in order to deal with an expected 6 million more people, the Southern California Association of Governments ...
.07 Completed Metro Beltway Can Help Stall Sprawl
YourHub-com - Denver, CO, USA
For 40 years, the Denver Regional Council of Governments - DRCOG -- and a wide array of jurisdictions and organizations have envisioned the completed ...
.08 Funkhouser Proposes Regional Transportation System
MyFox - Kansas City, MO, USA
First there was a light rail plan, then it was gone. Now Mayor Mark Funkhouser said he wants to work regionally and is moving full speed ahead. "I wouldn't call it a plan yet. I'd call it ideas, a draft and we get ideas back, " Funkhouser said. ...
.09 Continue push for regional cooperation
Tribune Chronicle – Youngstown, OH, USA
Several community leaders have taken the first steps toward restarting the Trumbull County Council of Governments. The council, or COG, was made up of representatives from many communities to discuss and attempt to solve common problems. The COG disbanded many years ago. … talk about regional cooperation between his city and the rest of Summit County. …
.10 Crossroads Coalition names new director
Times-Herald - Forrest City, AR, USA
The Crossroads Coalition, which includes 10 counties in Eastern Arkansas, has named Melissa Rivers as its new executive director. ... Rivers has served as Director of Regionalism and Workforce Development for the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce. ...
.11 ‘I think this is a win-win situation’
Bryan County News – GA, USA
The Regional Development Center has proposed a program available to residents in 10 coastal counties that will expand Bryan County’s current transit system, according to Barbara Hurst with the RDC. ... Right now, the county transports six to eight people per month, which brings in about $40 in fares. ...
.12 Summit hopes to facilitate growth
Watertown Daily Times - Watertown, WI, USA
Among the day's dominant themes was the need for businesses, governments and individuals to think regionally, rather than locally, in terms of pursuing ...
.13 Connecting the region
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee, WI, USA
Our future is linked to the economic health of this region." Brewer also pointed out the Milwaukee 7 economic development group has made transit one of its highest priorities. "We think some things are coming into alignment, " Brewer said. "The business community is coming together. The broader transit issues in Milwaukee have brought more attention to the issue. ...
.14 Overloaded 911 looks to future upgrades; Regionalization opens up communication
News-Democrat & Leader - Russellville, KY, USA
... upgrades and how they are going to have to be completed by 2011 when all emergency operations systems will revert from analog to digital. ... “If we don't progress then when 2011 comes around and they flip the switch we won't be able to talk to anyone ... ”One of the things the committee will be looking at is regionalization
.15 Arts Play Big Role in Northwest Ohio Economy
Toledo-com - OH, USA
... study is relevant, Carroll said, “because there is a growing body of research that shows a thriving arts community is crucial for the health and vitality of a region. The quality of life within a region, of which the arts are an essential component, is inextricably linked to a firm’s decision about location, ” he added. “If northwest Ohio hopes to secure a vibrant economic future, a quantifiable measure of arts activities is needed to retain and recruit companies within the region.” ...
.16 Cheese maker may be coming
Auburn Citizen - Auburn, NY, USA
Because the company will create more than 50 jobs, it is eligible to be granted status as a Regionally Significant Project and receive full Empire Zone ...
.17 Education key to growth, business leaders say
Jackson Clarion Ledger - Jackson, MS, USA
... speakers discussed using regionalism in landing economic development projects and how the energy, aerospace and defense industries will be growth industries for the state.
.18 ARC offers free rides for car poolers
Atlanta Journal Constitution – Atlanta, GA, USA
Drivers who have had it with the gas costs of a solo commute but who can't be tied to a daily car pool schedule may have a new option, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. The ARC's car pool and van pool matching service, which helps pair car poolers with partners in their area, is expanding a program that gives participants a guaranteed, free ride home if they have to miss the car pool occasionally. …
.19 Borough officials, citizens discuss forming regionalized police force
Bucks County Courier Times – PA, USA
Pennsylvania has 1, 344 police departments, more than three times any other state, Blaydon added. Regionalization would bring a full-time police force with one chief and one building. ...
.20 Archdiocese breaks ground on Catholic academy to replace seven parish schools
Boston Globe - United States
The archdiocese is planning this fall to replace seven existing parish schools in those two neighborhoods with one regionalized school system, ...
.21 City of Roanoke launches StarCam
WDBJ7.com - Roanoke, VA, USA
According to a news release, "the city hopes StarCam will increase the awareness of Roanoke regionally, nationally and globally. If you are interested in checking out the StarCam, click here.
.22 Communities Unite to Construct Regional Public Safety Interoperability Network
Emailwire - USA
Communications interoperability among police, fire, and EMS agencies will soon become a working reality in Southwest and Central Virginia. … Lynchburg and Roanoke MSAs actively sought and won grants from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Interoperable Communications Technology Grant program to implement the COMLINC Network. …
.23 Back to the future
Tracy Press – Trace, CA, USA
What will San Joaquin County look like 40 years from now? The San Joaquin Council of Governments seeks public input through a series of forums that began this week to determine the answer to that question.
.24 Stewart lacks regional plan for growth
Poughkeepsie Journal – New York
... either internally or in the larger sense of a regional collaboration. That's the revelation coming out of a meeting of the Stewart Airport Commission Tuesday, where economic development leaders presented a bright picture about the potential of the ...
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01 Alberta land use policy will divide province into six watershed regions
Oilweek – Alberta, CA
Under the draft policy being released Wednesday by Sustainable Resource Minister Ted Morton, Alberta will be divided into six land use regions and each will have its own land use priorities.Stelmach says the new framework will balance ...
.02 Southern Africa: Whither Regional Integration?
AllAfrica.com - Washington, USA
The vision of regionalism was state-led and development-oriented with elements of protection of the domestic and regional markets. The economic cooperation ...
.03 9 Regional Health Authorities Replaced By 1 Provincial Board
CHQR - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
“This new governance model will clarify the roles and responsibilities that will help make Alberta’s publicly-funded health care system more effective and efficient, ” ...
.04 What happens when oil hits $200
Manila Times - Philippines
Western Europe could turn to Eastern Europe and regionalization would be the new globalization. For the Philippines, regionalization could be good. ...
.05 Localisation is a lesson we can learn regionally
Birmingham Post - Birmingham, West Midlands, UK
We are at an earlier stage in our 'Extending Localisation' project. This will aim to map out how sector by sector we can extend the local rootedness of our regional economy. ...
.06 Canada in 2007: Marginally slower but regionally balanced growth
Daily Commercial News - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
According to the recently released Provincial Economic Accounts, growth in Canada was regionally more balanced in 2007 than it was in 2006. ... during 2007, growth increased in both Central Canada and Atlantic Canada while it slowed in Western Canada. ...
.07 Budget 08: New regional development plan spelt out in budget
Stock and Land - Fairfax, Australia
The budget papers show Labor has established a replacement Better Regions program, as flagged during the election campaign, and a Regional Development Australia network which are both said to fund major investments in rural communities....
.08 Regional development at the forefront of Enterprise Ireland's agenda
Nenagh Guardian - Tipperary, Ireland
The Entrepreneurship and Regional Development division of Enterprise Ireland is focussed on developing the entrepreneurial culture regionally and driving the growth of export focused innovation based start ups....
.09 N KOREA CALLS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION ON GLOBAL ISSUES
Trading Markets (press release) - Los Angeles, CA, USA
North Korea recently called for a regional action program to effectively deal with such pending global issues as rising oil and food prices as well as instability in financial markets, its state-run media said. ...
.10 Manning wants stronger tourism ties
Nation News - Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados
In unveiling plans for Trinidad and Tobago to be more competitive in the regional tourism sector, Manning stressed that "while there is regional cooperation on some levels", further intensification could witness improved service levels, quality standards as well as marketing and sustainable tourism development efforts....
.11 NB offers funding for maple syrup producers
Grainews - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The funding, to flow through the provincial Regional Development Corporation's Total Development Fund, is to help support proper development of maple sugar stands, prevent damage to tubing collection systems, and increase productivity by removing diseased and dying trees and "undesirable" species. ...
.12 Pest Sea Squirt Found At Marsden Cove
Scoop-co-nz (press release) - New Zealand
Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) advised the Northland Regional Council yesterday that about 40 Styela clava (or clubbed tunicate sea squirt) had been found ...
.13 Battle against crime is taken to regions
ic Wales - United Kingdom
THE fight against crime in the Vale of Glamorgan will continue with a series with Partnership And Communities Together (Pact) meetings
.14 EU regions ranked on high-tech workforce
EurActiv - Brussels, Belgium
EU capital regions in Northern Europe tend to lead the way towards the knowledge-based economy with the highest share of highly qualified workers in science ...
.15 Pacific NGO saddened by Urwin resignation
Radio New Zealand International - Wellington, New Zealand
“He believed in working together in terms of regionalism. He was very active in terms of putting an accreditation policy together. ...
.16 Physical Activity Affected By Social Status
eMaxHealth.com - Hickory, NC, USA
The WHO Regional Office for Europe works to promote evidence-based good practice on physical activity that can reduce the socioeconomic inequalities in obesity....
.17 Gangnam District in Seoul, South Korea, Named the Intelligent Community of the Year
Government Technology – USA
… development as an Intelligent Community began in 1995, when the district launched its first "electronic government" project. … About 350, 000 citizens are registered users of the district's Web portal, and 210, 000 are subscribers to an e-mail system that asks for their comment on proposed laws and regulations.
.18 Jane’s Launches New Terrorism and Insurgency Centre Events Map
Jane's - Coulsdon, England, UK
Groups data by geographical vicinity rather than by more conventional political and regional boundaries, instantly producing a visual relationship between ...
.19 Discarding the myths of development
BBC News
Government intervention in the economy, and a degree of protectionism, will be needed in the early stages of development. These are the key findings of an independent Growth Commission …
.20 What It Takes to Really Win Globally
AdAge.com (subscription) – USA
... true global brand CEOs forcefully build long-term global marketing capability by driving a single global strategy, forcing organizational alignment, improving speed-to-market and building brand expertise across geographies. ...
.21 Stiffer regulation needed on fake drugs
New Vision - Uganda
Raising the standards of legitimate drug makers and stamping out the fakes should be the priority of governments in the region … .
.22 Governance means Leadership and the U. of Winnipeg is leading the way
Grassroots News – Manitoba, CA
Why in the world do we need such a thing as a "Master Degree in Aboriginal Governance" program at the University of Winnipeg?
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 Roadblocks To Rail Prove We Need A New Definition of "Region"
The Political Environment
The commuter rail plan linking Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha is crucial for regional development and for the betterment of the existing business and cultural connections to northern Illinois and Chicago. ...
.02 Quote of the Week: It is amazing...
Disaster Zone: Emergency Management in the Blogosphere
Harry Truman One of the primary issues in regionalization is that no one wants to see any single jurisdiction accumulating authority, power, or influence. One way to counter act this very human line of thinking is to always defer to ...
.03 Broadband Properties: Does Yours Qualify?
Real Estate – Carlini’s Comment
We are worried about regional sustainability. Are you? Second- and third-tier cities understand the sense of urgency of building new network infrastructure because it’s a matter of survivability to them. ...
.04 Baseless assumptions led us astray from regional strategy
Charlie Barnhart & Associates
For many reasons, Technology Forecasters has been predicting a return to the regional sourcing strategy that was the hallmark of electronics manufacturing before Y2K and the rush to build anything and everything in China. ...
.05 Where should federal transit funds go?
SEPTA Watcher
The TIP is the regionally agreed-upon list of priority projects, as required by federal law. The TIP document must list all projects that intend to use federal funds, along with nonfederally funded projects that are regionally ...
.06 Beware - "One Size Fits All" Regionalism Can Be Very Expensive
Bull City Mutterings
But in a polycentric region like the Triangle, where there is no dominant center, research has shown it is highly unlikely that guests would stay in a city other than their true destination. ...
.07 Live Blog 2: Providence & Beyond Cafe w/ Ken Payne
New Commons Blog
NYC planning - realizes position in global game, but also needs to adapt to maintain position. NYC leading transit thinking. They need to link the region via high speed rail to reach the talent base to stay a leader. We need to think this way too....
.08 Harmless? Or Conditioning People to Accept Regionalization?
As Maine Goes
Western Foothills Regional School Unit was chosen Thursday night as the name ... Representatives ... overwhelmingly agreed on the name because it describes the geographical location of the system.
.09 Basis Levels Steady
AgWeb – USA
Cash grain basis levels were mostly unchanged this week. US corn average basis levels were flat from the previous week, while soybean basis on average slipped 1 cent a bushel. ... Regionally, basis levels in the East were stronger overall as planting progress was more substantial, limiting farmer selling. - Note: State-County maps
.10 Freshwater ecoregions of the world
The Infinite Sphere
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW) is a collaborative project providing the first global biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's freshwater biodiversity, and synthesizing biodiversity and threat data for the resulting ...
.11 Is there life for traditional marketing?
Tourism Tide
Newspapers - Great for regionalized penetration, but with no instant feedback, and a low traceableness, not to mention the lowing of readership, the skies look gray for the traditional printed newspaper. ...
.12 What is new at MNC?
Metis Bare Facts
British Columbia is busy with community consultations in their various regional boundaries. They will work at letting the people determine their progression into the future, including whether they continue with the Métis National ...
.13 Brzezinski: Supranational Jurisdiction
Random10
The historic paradox of our time is that supranational cooperation toward these major goals is only possible if the lead is taken by the last sovereign state, and joined by the more resilient regional powers willing eventually to ...
.14 Mike Treder Nanotechnology and the Potential for Global Governance
IEET
... warned a US Senate science and technology subcommittee, “Public trust is the ‘dark horse’ in nanotechnology’s future. If government and industry do not work to build public confidence in nanotechnology, consumers may reach for the ‘No-Nano’ label in the future.” ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 The Summit for American Prosperity: Washington and Metro Areas Working Together - June 11 - 12, 2008 - hosted by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings - Washington, DC
This Summit launches the policy phase of the Blueprint for American Prosperity: Unleashing the Potential of a Metropolitan Nation, an ambitious, multi-year initiative to build long-term U.S. prosperity by reinvigorating the federal role in promoting the health and vitality of America’s metropolitan areas.
.02 REGIONAL AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL PLANNING - A Publication of the Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division of the American Planning Association - Spring 2008 - PDF Download
Atlanta’s Approach to True Integrated Regional Land Use/Transportation Planning & Development – Introduction
The strength of the Atlanta region, or any region, is in its centers. City centers, town centers and major activity centers are the social, cultural and economic engines of a healthy region. Thanks in part to increased traffic congestion and decreased air quality, planning for growth and investment in these areas has become a priority among those concerned with the region’s economic success. The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) and the Envision6 process have both worked to encourage planning and investment, both private and public, into these existing locations.
Other contents: National Transportation Investment, Reflections, Conferencing, News from the Regions, Division News, Editor’s Corner
.03 Evidence-based planning — Spatial North - EU Funded Project
Despite the growing awareness of the need for evidence-based policy making at the national and regional levels, authorities still do not have access to all the information required to make the decisions involved in comprehensive spatial planning.
Sharing intelligence with other local initiatives (e.g. community strategies, local transport plans and housing renewal strategies) will help authorities to start developing ‘spatial’ evidence bases that go beyond land-use planning matters. In particular, data and information obtained from other strategies may assist with the development of contextual indicators for local development frameworks.
Baseline information consists of ...
.04 Regional Cooperation - Michigan Suburbs Alliance
Regional cooperation is essential to strengthening and uniting older suburbs and to improving the viability of metro Detroit. Michigan is one of the most governmentally fragmented states in the nation and, inevitably, interdependent. While our fragmented system offers many benefits like smaller, more accessible governments, it often results in local interests superseding the welfare of the region.
...
.05 Center for Disability Rights
Find and contact national and local media.
- Local Media -- ZIP Code Search
- Individual Search -- Editors, Reporters & Producers:
- Organization Search: Newspapers, TV, radio, etc.
.06 Regional Studies Association Research Network - Leading Citizen-Driven Governance: Collective Regional and Sub-Regional Leadership in the UK and Beyond
This event will take place at: Nottingham Business School, 307 Bass Management Centre, Nottingham Trent University, Thursday 19 JUNE 2008, 9.30am - 4.15pm
For further information, please contact Auréliane Beauclair: aureliane.beauclair@rsa-ls.ac.uk or Professor Joyce Liddle : Joyce.Liddle@ntu.ac.uk
.07 Terra Cognita 2008 Workshop- CALL FOR PAPERS—FIRST CALL
In Conjunction with the 7th International Semantic Web Conference,
Karlsruhe, Germany – October 26-30, 2008
Workshop Overview
The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers in a growing field of Semantic Web research: the intersection between Semantic Web data and geospatial data and applications. This workshop follows the Terra Cognita 2006 Workshop at ISWC 2006. Adding a geospatial component will enhance the Semantic Web. The Semantic Web community is in need of both better ways of representing and processing geospatial data and a better understanding of the unique problems geospatial data present. A large proportion of the data available on the Web has an inherent spatial context. This context currently goes largely unexploited. While many Semantic Web applications may use a map for viewing data, processing spatial relationships at a deeper level of understanding is needed to exploit the range of data.
The geospatial community requires input from the Semantic Web community as well, because a number of important spatial data problems have potential solutions within the Semantic Web. Building geospatial ontologies is a first step for alleviating the restrictiveness of XML-based and relational database-based schemas. Service interoperability also stands to make significant gains by incorporating Semantic Web technologies. Input is needed from both the geospatial and Semantic Web communities. It is expected that this workshop will draw Semantic Web researchers interested in working in the geospatial area as well as geospatial researchers wanting to pursue Semantic Web technologies. The workshop will include research areas in addition to novel applications. The workshop is a full day and includes one interactive session in which audience members can talk or present a slide for a couple of minutes on a relevant topic. (Although the terms spatial and geospatial are sometimes used interchangeably, we include the term geospatial to cover more broadly issues and data having a spatial component.)
Paper Topics
• Geospatial ontologies
• Semantic Web research regarding geospatial data
• Novel applications of Semantic Web technology to spatial data
• Techniques for processing spatial data within the Semantic Web
• Novel applications of spatial data to Semantic Web applications
• Semantic issues in geospatial standards
• Domain-oriented GIS applications that leverage Semantic Web technology
Paper Submission date: 21 July
Organizing Committee
Terra Cognita 2008 is organized by members of the Spatial Ontology Community of Practice (SOCoP, http://semanticommunity.wik.is/Spatial_Ontology_Community_of_Practice). SOCoP is a geospatial semantics interest group currently with members from U.S. federal agencies, academia, and companies. The group is open to anyone, and international collaborations are welcome. SOCoP’s goal is to foster collaboration among users, technologists, and researchers of spatial knowledge representations and reasoning towards the development of a set of core, common geospatial ontologies for use by all in the Semantic Web.
Workshop Chairs
Nancy Wiegand, University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA, wiegand@cs.wisc.edu
Dave Kolas, BBN Technologies, USA, dkolas@bbn.com
Gary Berg-Cross, Engineering Management & Integration, USA, gary.berg-cross@em-i.com
14. Custom search: region, regions, regional communities Contents
To search on topics like those in Regional Community Development News use this custom search engine which utilizes regional related sites. Entering the term visioning returned 550 items; regional visioning returned 443 items. Please recommend links for inclusion.
Next Issue June 11, 2008 – Until then, on the road attending the Regional Studies Association International Conference 2008 Regions: The Dilemmas of Integration and Competition – Prague – Ed.
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 bi-monthly, as of May 7, 2008, based on news reports as of Wednesday of the publication week. It was published weekly through April 23, 2008. At the start, it was twice-weekly.
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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Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP, Making regions visible for Leaders and Problem-solvers. www.regionalintelligence.com
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