Regional/Greater Community Development News – March 26, 2012


     Multi-jurisdictional intentional regional communities are, in all cases, “Greater Communities” where “community motive” is at work at a more than a local scale. This newsletter provides a scan of regional community, cooperation and collaboration activity as reported in news media and blogs. More articles are at delicious.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Top 10 Stories
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter stressed regional growth and cooperation … meeting with…Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce.
“We are the economic engine of the commonwealth … We should never be reluctant; we should never be shy; we should never be embarrassed to make sure our voices are heard.”
The five-county region of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties is responsible for about 40 percent of the state’s economy,…101 colleges and universities in the broader region, which also includes northern Delaware and South Jersey. And the region has been recognized as one of the leading spots for sustainable energy and clean technology jobs.
“Our region is truly at a crossroads...We must continue to work together to grow our economies and attract 21st century jobs.”
But the region won’t succeed unless officials work together, the mayor said.
“My second job (after advocating for Philadelphia) is to make sure, if a business can’t be in Philly, they’re in the region"
5140-09-07-Delaware.Valley-Philadelphia-PA-NJ, re:energy.clean, re:economy, re:state, re:chamber.of.commerce, re:cooperation, re:region, re:mayor
… chair of the Tulsa Metro Chamber Board, is enthusiastic and optimistic about Tulsa and the surrounding region’s growth and development opportunities in the years ahead. In order to determine the best steps to achieve the region’s tremendous potential, Frank, along with Tulsa County and regional mayors, are calling on business leaders and the public to participate in the enVision Summit …
… Owasso Chamber of Commerce, says, “The enVision Summit is an extremely important step in developing a cohesive vision of where we want to see the region going in the future. The spirit of regionalism is key to our success, both collectively as a region, and individually as cities and towns.”
Akin says the city of Tulsa is key to regional growth because regional communities need a core city. At the same time he says, “Core cities need regions in order to develop and be successful. It is a real collaborative relationship.”
Speaking to the strength of the Tulsa region’s collaborative spirit …
5140-25-06-INCOG-Tulsa, re:spirit, re:collaborative, re:city-region, re:city, re:chamber.of.commerce, re:development, re:vision, re:summit
The merger of Illawarra councils appeared inevitable and the region's community leaders should start laying the groundwork, Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said …
… Bradbery's view puts him at odds with his Shellharbour and Kiama counterparts, who yesterday rejected the idea of an Illawarra merger.
… Bradbery said in his "grand scheme of government" the role of the states was redundant.
"I would see Australia having federal government and then regional governments which would be ultimately the aggregation of councils," he said.
While acknowledging such a change might not occur in his lifetime, he said it was something the region's councils could work towards through collaboration.
"The economies of scale enter into this. Delivering services across the three local government areas for instance could be done more effectively and efficiently."
"What I'm suggesting is that collaboration and shared resourcing seems to me the way to go and preparing the ground for future amalgamations."
7430-0X-New.South.Wales-Illawarra, re:officials.elected.appointed, re:mayors, re:government, re:scale.economies.of, re:collaboration, re:amalgamation
A three-county program to spur economic development through energy efficiency and clean energy in small businesses has proven successful, program backers say, saving businesses in Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin Counties $240,000 in energy costs annually and leveraging investments of $1.1 million in energy-saving projects.
In 2011, the Governor's Energy Office launched the “Main Street Efficiency Initiative” — a regional program implemented by Clean Energy Economy for the Region, the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, and the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability. During the past year, the local organizations worked with 96 businesses to save energy through upgrades and retrofits in their buildings. Sixty-four of those buildings have completed the energy-saving upgrades, and many additional projects are in the works. … Main Street Grant, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the 2009 federal “stimulus” bill — put $250,000 to work …
5140-44-12-Northwest-Vail, re:state, re:green.jobs.economy, re:energy.clean, re:conservation, re:energy
A bitter battle is brewing between park agencies in the Twin Cities and in outstate Minnesota over how much each should get from the nearly $40 million state Parks and Trails Legacy Fund.
More than 60 percent of the sales tax money comes from the seven-county metro area, but only about 40 percent is being used for parks and trails there. The rest goes to the state Department of Natural Resources and to regionally important parks and trails outstate.

Carver County and nine other county and local governments with metro regional parks want a bigger piece of the pie. … The resolution said that the metro system needs "a more equitable distribution" of the money because the metro area contributes 64 percent of the sales tax and its regional parks have four times more visitors than parks in greater Minnesota.

However, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition said the metro area has it backward.
...
5140-32-00-Minnesota, 5140-32-11-Metropolitan.Council-Minneapolis-St.Paul, re:trails, re:funding
A series of community forums are being held to help the region develop a cultural blueprint.
Belleville, Quinte West, and Hastings County have recently partnered in an effort to revitalize their combined cultural picture.
Their cultural plan — A Cultural Plan for Hastings County and Quinte Region — is about halfway toward completion.
To further the project, a series of three community forums have been announced. The forums will provide residents and organizations with an opportunity to give input on the project’s directions and priorities.
Organizers say resident input and ideas are valuable insight into the region’s cultural needs, and critical to the project’s success.
…development of a regional cultural plan will provide many benefits to promote and develop cultural assets while building local economies and improving the quality of life for residents and visitors.

The project itself is being funded by the Creative Communities Prosperity Fund of the Government of Ontario.
5130-06-00-Ontario, re:blueprint, re:plan, re:cultural
After a meeting with county official Ed Jerse and Cuyahoga County Council member Sunny Simon, Lyndhurst City Council members felt better about the anti-poaching deal that had first been put before council late last year.

Council members met … county’s Director of Regional Collaboration, and Simon …
Speaking about joining the other 22 county communities that had signed on to the protocol, Ward 4 Councilman Patrick Ward said, “It sends a strong message that Cuyahoga County is open for business.”

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald has instituted a $100-million economic development fund as part of the protocol. In addition to communities promising not to “poach” businesses from other communities within the county, the protocol would make available money from the fund to businesses who need financial help in moving into the county.
Cities that do not join the protocol, the county let it be known, would be less likely to receive help from the fund when trying to attract a business
5140-28-0X-Northeast-Cleveland-NEO, re:collaboration, re:protocol, re:funding, re:economic.development
For many jurisdictions that are part of California’s “Big Four” metropolitan planning organizations, Senate Bill 375 has ushered in new, unprecedented degrees of collaboration. But whereas SB 375 makes a regional planning revolution for many, for the jurisdictions of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the SCS is business as usual.
Having pursued so-called “Blueprint” planning since 2004, and having built its 2008 Metro Transportation Plan (MTP) around it, the Sacramento region’s efforts inspired some of the tenets of SB 375 in the first place. The SACOG SCS, released in November and scheduled to be voted on next month, is no novel concept but rather more of a revision of existing plans. It has been met with broad support in part because the heavy lifting was done years ago.
“It's been a nudge. It’s not like it was a revolution,” said McKeever. “The revolution happened when the Blueprint was adopted.”
Thus far, developers, environmental groups, and member cities alike ...
5140-50-03-Sacramento-SACOG, re:politics.Tea.Party, re:politics.Tea.Party, re:sustainability, re:blueprint, re:SB.375, re:sustainability, re:blueprint, re:SB.375
People and patents and progress — that’s the short version of what the Midwest Intellectual Property Management Institute is all about. The unique economic development initiative is more, though, as it spreads its regional concept to companies and retirees across a 50-county area of western Illinois and eastern Iowa. Knox and Warren counties are in the southern portion of the region. Exec.Dir.William Ratzburg said IPI started as “a blank sheet of paper. This has been an idea for five years. It has been a reality for about two and a half years.”
IPI has corporate partners, which are John Deere, KONE Corp., and … Rockwell Collins was recently added. The institute has access to patents of its corporate partners, patents that are being used in products or are “market proven.” IPI looks for companies that can benefit from the patents in fields not in competition with the owners of the patents. The patents also can be made available to entrepreneurs preparing to start businesses. ...
5140-35-10-East.Central-Cedar.Rapids, 5140-30-00-Illinois, re:entrepreneur, re:development.economic, re:patents, re:property, re:intellectual
In January, … South Africa introduced a resolution to tighten the relationship between the UNSC and regional organizations—
… growing role of regional organizations poses a conundrum for the United States. Many of these implications … in a terrific new book, Rewiring Regional Security in a Fragmented World,. … at least four other insights of the book warrant mentioning.
Regional organizations are a diverse lot. The aspirations, mandates and activities of regional organizations vary enormously. …
Regional approaches are no panacea. At first glance, regional organizations provide an attractive alternative, or complement, to an overstretched and sometimes dysfunctional United Nations. …
Capacity building must be a priority. In addition, the aspirations of regional organizations often outstrip their ability to deliver. …
The United States must adapt its diplomacy to rising regionalism. The State Department tends to approach conflict management through the lens of bilateral relationships
0000.UN-United.Nations, 5140-00-00-USA.United.States.of.America, re:security, re:diplomacy, re:peace

Top stories tweeted daily:  http://twitter.com/#!/tomchristoffel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basic Geocodes - 
0000 - Earth
0900 - Arctic Ocean
1000 - Europe
2000 - Africa
3000 - Atlantic Ocean
4000 - Antarctica
5000 - Americas
6000 - Pacific Ocean
7000 - Oceana
8000 - Asia
9000 - Indian Ocean

"Global Region-builder Geo-Code Prototype" © 

For delicious reader feed: