Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 27, 2011

1. New Report: Most Aging Baby Boomers Face Poor Mobility Options : Center for Neighborhood Technology


CNT provided the analysis for the new Transportation4America report, Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options, out today on the cities that have worst mobility options for seniors. Large cities with the poorest transit access for seniors included Atlanta, Riverside-San Bernardino (CA), Houston, Detroit, and Dallas-90% of seniors in Atlanta will lack transit access in 2015. Medium-sized cities (1million-3million) with the poorest transit access for seniors are Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth-Arlington, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill. By 2015, 88% of seniors in Kansas City will have poor access to public transit.


CNT Research Director Peter Haas ... “As you see in the cities that top the worst mobility options for seniors, urban form is more spread out. Baby boomers by and large were raised in more dispersed communities where auto-dependency was the favored mode of transport. As the boomers age in these areas, they will be most affected by lack of public transportation.”
...


2. Nevada law shifts balance of power on Tahoe planning agency - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee


...


The law is a manifestation of Nevada's mounting frustration with Tahoe development restrictions. Though critics say TRPA has rarely balked at any major development project at the lake, cumbersome regulations often produce years of delay and extra compliance costs.


"It's an issue about the pace of work that gets done," said Maureen McCarthy, executive director of the Tahoe Science Consortium. "Nevada's position is driven heavily by the economic climate. The state is broke, and by comparison to California, Nevada is really broke."


McCarthy's group helps government officials understand the science that affects Tahoe. She said TRPA has been invaluable in that regard because it welcomes that science and incorporates it into decisions.


... "We don't want to see the baby thrown out with the bath water, and the baby is science."...


California state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, supports the new Nevada law. His district includes the California portion of Lake Tahoe, ...


3. Senecas seek bigger role as area developers - Business - The Buffalo News


The Seneca Nation of Indians wants to be a bigger player in economic development across Western New York and into Pennsylvania.


The nation hosted a meeting of economic development officials from both states Thursday in its Seneca Allegany Casino to learn what each other has to offer and how they can work together in the future.


“For the longest time, I’ve wanted to get all the IDAs and development agencies in this region together in one room to discover and discuss what we have in common,” said Robert Odawi Porter, the Seneca Nation president.


“Let’s see how we can all work together to foster and build economic development options to benefit all our people, whether they live within Seneca, New York or Pennsylvania boundaries,” Porter said. “Good business knows no boundaries.”


... meeting was one of the first times that economic development officials from the Seneca Nation and five New York and two Pennsylvania counties had gotten together to talk about economic development.


4. EDITORIAL: Charting the course for economic growth - Northwest Indiana


The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's major study of the greater Chicago area -- from southeast Wisconsin to Northwest Indiana -- is one more effort to chart a course for the area's future.


The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is leading the Paris-based OEDC's tri-state study to analyze the region's economic impact. In the process, the chamber will gauge the area's economic competitiveness, attractiveness, sustainability and political climate compared to other major cities around the world.As a major study, the effort includes amassing an army of data. But it's also a call to arms for people and organizations to improve the situation here.


The Gary and Region Investment Project ...is a similar undertaking for Northwest Indiana.... 


"I think people are recognizing that we could be in trouble unless we take steps to act,"  Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation President .... "There's a recognition on a global scale that regional approaches ... make sense."
...


5. Next American City » Magazine » The Enabling City


We face massive challenges … and we are inspired.” This is the opening line of what until a few years ago would have been considered an improbable urban manifesto. Crafted in 2006 by the Social Silicon Valley collective, Towards City 2.0 is a compelling call to arms that was submitted to an international ideas competition launched by officials in Helsinki, Finland. Confronted with the need to address issues of rapid population growth and environmental change, 14 towns and municipalities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region turned to the public, looking for solutions that would address their residential, land use and transportation needs of the future. In six incredibly insightful pages, City 2.0 details the collective’s vision for a city that doubles as an innovation hub. Here, hyperlocal ideas are connected to the larger city fabric through a “social innovation mayor,” a political figure responsible for driving long-term structural changes by unlocking the capacity of others to ...


6. Human Transit: that influential texas "urban mobility report" 


.. Congress for the New Urbanism conference in Madison ... a small but sharp audience gathered to hear Tim Lomax of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) debate Joe Cortwright of CEOs for Cities.  Tim was there to defend TTI's influential Urban Mobility Report (UMR), an annual compendium of statistics that are widely used to define how US cities think about mobility problems and to benchmark these cities against each other.  Joe was there to attack TTI's methodology as biased against compact, sustainable cities. 


The technical core of the argument is simple.  TTI's Travel Time Index, one of their more quoted products, is a ratio of peak congested travel times by car against uncongested travel times by car.  In other words, travel times are said to be "worse" only if they get much longer in peak commute hours than they are midday. 


This ratio inevitably gives "better" scores to cities where normal uncongested travel times are pretty long -- in other words, spread-out cities. ...


...




7. Regional committee to go the distance - Australia


A new Ministerial Advisory Council is to be established to advise the Minister for Regional Australia on issues affecting country communities.


   The Minister, Simon Crean said the new Council would give regional communities even stronger backing at the highest level of government.


   Mr Crean said $4.3 billion was budgeted for key investments in regional communities including health and hospitals, skills, higher education and infrastructure.


   He said the Government had strengthened the role of the nation’s 55 Regional Development Australia Committees and was driving a new place-based approach to help deliver local solutions to local issues.


“We are determined to make sure regional communities can meet the challenge of an economy in transition and reach their full potential,” Mr Crean said.
...




8. Development Blueprint For County Clare Is Launched - Ireland


The Mayor of Clare launched the Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 today describing it as a “window of opportunity for the County to foster innovation, creativity and new sustainable, inclusive development.”


Councillor Christy Curtin joined Council officials as well as Clare’s 31 other Elected Members at the official launch in Aras Contae an Chláir.


The Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 sets out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the functional area of Clare County Council. The six-year blueprint replaces the existing County Development Plan 2005 and is the sixth such Plan since 1964.


... Mayor Curtin stated: “The primary goal of this Plan is to position County Clare as a driver for local and regional growth through harnessing the potential of its unique location, quality of life, natural resources and other competitive advantages.  Ultimately, the Plan seeks to make County Clare a better place to live in, work and visit.”


...


9. Cisco CEO Keynotes at 2011 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Conference


John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems


Enhancing capabilities through regional collaboration.  The tech community has provided the opportunity to enhance our communications and coordination.


What is changing?  Market transitions don't wait for anyone.  Security and safety is another piece of this.  Think about what social media brings to the table, but in a secure fashion.  The public sector is going to get leaner and meaner. Today it is a network economy feeding on information.  Now you have so much data that you need to access the relevant data.  Dynamic is the way to think about it.  Interagency coordination is needed.


Constant change is going to be tough.  Collaboration is the answer, not command and control.  Need to outthink and outmaneuver the events that are going to impact us.  We used to function in the PC world.  Today it is all about mobile.  By 2013 there will be 1 trillion devices connecting people across the world.Getting these all to work with a seamless interface is the key...for future collaboration.


10. Carl Zimmer: A Planet of Viruses - The Long Now Foundation - FORA.tv


The Earth's atmosphere is determined in large part by ocean bacteria; every day viruses kill half of them. Every year in the oceans, viruses transfer a trillion trillion genes between host organisms. They evolve faster than anything else, and they are a major engine of the evolution of the rest of life. Our own bodies are made up of 10 trillion human cells, 100 trillion bacteria, and 4 trillion very busy viruses. Some of them kill us. Many of them help us. Some of them are us. Viral time is ancient and blindingly fast.


Science journalist Carl Zimmer's wrote "A Planet of Viruses" and explains in this presentation what is known about the viruses. SARS, HIV and H1N1 are covered, as well as the need for an annual vaccination, since viruses mutate so rapidly. The other Long Now Foundation videos at this site are worth a look. Steward Brand, publisher of "The Whole Earth Catalog" is the founder and moderator for questions after the presentation.  


More links: http://www.delicious.com/I.see.regions.work

Regional Community Development News - June 19-20, 2011

1. Surprise surprise: "experts" picked by road lobbyists put road building at top of priority list - Greater Greater Washington


The 2030 Group, an advocacy organization funded by some of Virginia's longtime proponents of sprawl-inducing highway development, came out with a thoroughly unsurprising "survey" today that recommends the very same projects the organizers have pushed for years.
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Far better studies of regional priorities include those from the Council of Governments, whose scenario studies looked not only at vehicle speeds but overall land use and found that the biggest gains in improving commutes came from responsible land use, like developing underutilized Metro stations, addressing the east-west job divide in the region, and revitalizing existing, aging commercial corridors.


The COG Region Forward report, which all 22 area jurisdictions endorsed, shows that addressing land use and the imbalance between jobs and housing, along with supportive transit and transit-oriented development, are the top priorities. COG's scenario studies demonstrated that better land use planning offers the biggest bang ...


2. Should Alaska create a fund to attract investors to develop the Arctic? | Alaska Dispatch


The state is positioning itself to be the banker as well as the builder of Arctic projects in the hope of attracting more private investment to the region. And that could be the catalyst to jumpstart broad development in the Arctic -- beyond just oil and gas operations. ... Arctic Imperative Summit portrayed the region as an "emerging market" that will need some sort of established investment fund to lead the way and then entice skittish private investors to follow.


The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority -- a state development agency ... could be that entity, if political leaders decide to put significant amounts of cash in the agency's bank account.


... idea of a "regional development syndicate" for the Arctic, a group that might include state, federal and private investors. ... foreign investors, including China, are backing Alaska projects or buying significant shares in U.S. companies that are doing business here....


3. Conservationists battle city in Lake Tahoe fight - San Jose Mercury News


A conservation group is asking a federal judge to throw out the California city of South Lake Tahoe's new planning regulations, saying the update allows for too much development at the expense of the lake's clarity and scenic beauty.


The League to Save Lake Tahoe says in the lawsuit that city council plans are illegal because they were not reviewed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as required by a federal bi-state compact for Nevada and California.


South Lake Tahoe City Attorney Patrick Enright said Monday he had no immediate comment because he had not yet seen the lawsuit.


The suit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., says the planning blueprint—combined with intended road expansions—will result in increased ozone emissions, airborne dust and erosion, which are three of the chief culprits blamed for the decline in the clarity of the alpine lake's waters over the past four decades.
...

4. Oxford to host 2035 planning meeting - Northeast Georgia

Oxford City Hall will be the setting of the Northeast Georgia Regional Planning Commission meeting for a new 2035 plan for the region.

The region is made up of 12 counties — Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton — and the plan is a long-range one for managing the region’s forecasted growth through the year 2035, according to the commission’s Web site.

The meeting ... is primarily for stakeholders of the regions who make decisions, like commissioners and the Chamber of Commerce, but it is open to the public.

“It’s an honor for our city to be chosen,” said Oxford Mayor Jerry Roseberry, who serves on the planning advisory committee and volunteered Oxford as the setting for the first meeting. “(The committee) thought it would be a good location.”

The plan has come in three phases — the commission already has conducted a regional assessment and stakeholder development, and now it is working in the implementation phase.

5. ECan rewrites regional planning policy | Stuff.co.nz


Canterbury's earthquakes have forced a rethink of one of the region's most significant planning documents.


Environment Canterbury's (ECan) proposed 2011 Canterbury regional policy statement (RPS) will give legal weight to the Canterbury water management strategy. It also includes changes to guidelines on dealing with natural hazards, such as earthquakes.
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"We revised with new directions on earthquake faulting and the development of land subject to faulting," Langman said. "It also looks at avoiding or mitigating the effects from fault rupturing, liquefaction and lateral spreading, and puts some conditions down for new developments.


"It doesn't deal with the issue of any managed retreat from suburbs. That will be dealt with by Cera (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority)."
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The proposed policy on faults says ECan will:


Assist Christchurch city and district councils to map "fault avoidance zones".
...


6. Vince Cable urges Government to save North East economic powers - Journal Live


BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable has been urged to hold a genuine consultation on the need for the region to keep key decision-making powers in local hands – or see the economy weaken.


A consultation will be held on the decision to close down regional development agencies, including One North East.


But the promise came with an admission from the Government that it had already made up its mind to scrap the agencies.


Now Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes and his predecessor Liberal Democrat David Faulkner have sent a joint letter to Dr Cable calling for the regeneration body to either be saved or for the region to retain some of its functions.
...


7. It's grimmer up North than it needs to be - Telegraph


As you travel northward your eye, accustomed to the South or East, does not notice much difference until you are beyond Birmingham. ...


This is less a divide than an imbalance caused by London's dominant position as an economic, cultural and political megalopolis. Although other European countries, such as Italy, have their geographically rich and poor divisions, none – not even France – has a capital city that acts like a national black hole, sucking investment, skilled migrant workers, young people, money and, ultimately, decision-making powers towards it.


But this has been true for decades...



At the root of the problem is regional policy itself. Regions command little local loyalty in England and have even less economic coherence, yet they have been the basis for the planning of successive governments. Some blame the EU for handing out development funds on a regional basis; yet Continental countries manage to organise things differently. Since the mid 1960s, France has developed a network of communautés urbaines, conurbations that exercise delegated powers over waste, water, public transport, roads, economic development and the environment, each covering more than a million people. These are centred on major cities that have a sense of place and identity, rather than on regions that don't. Major German, Spanish and Italian cities do the same – and all are wealthier than any British cities, except London. That must be the way forward and the Coalition's plan to replace the RDAs with local enterprise partnerships is a move in the right direction.


Mind you, it won't resolve a deeper cultural divide that will always remain. ...




8. Cutbacks in state, federal programs could impact communities | Dothan Eagle


Editor’s note: The following article focuses on Slocomb, but the town faces challenges familiar to all Wiregrass communities. ...


“Slocomb has been very active in planning and preparing for public and private investment over the past couple of decades,” said Scott Farmer, director of community development with Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission.


Towns like Slocomb search for ways to meet the needs of residents and businesses. The commission’s community development department provides a range of administrative services to Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties.


The department is one of the most productive in Alabama, having written several of the highest rated Community Development Block Grant applications in the state. ...


The road ahead might not be so bright for towns like Slocomb. Farmer said many of the programs are projected to be cut substantially as government budgets are trimmed.
...

9. UMW Forms Economic Development Office - Fredericksburg, VA Patch

The University of Mary Washington has announced the creation of the University Center for Economic Development and its intent to award a contract to the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance to support the university’s regional economic development efforts.

The university issued a request for proposals March 2, 2011, to identify a partner in the field of economic development and research. UMW sought a vendor with experience in economic development principles, in working with governmental organizations, and in gathering local business intelligence. The successful bidder was asked to demonstrate governmental experience at the local, state, and federal levels as well as international experience in order to partner with UMW to establish the University Center for Economic Development.

The Fredericksburg Regional Alliance responded to the university’s request. A UMW selection committee evaluated the FRA proposal, making the recommendation for selection on June 10.

...

10. Wisconsin business alliance hires economic development pro for new position | RE Journals


The Kenosha Area Business Alliance (KABA) recently hired Brian Rademacher to fill its newly created position of economic development director.


Most recently, before beginning work with KABA on May 26, Rademacher worked for four years as economic development coordinator for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.


In that capacity, he worked with the planning commission for a seven-county region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will) in Northeastern Illinois. He also worked closely with economic development corporations, local governments and business leaders to provide insight into the economy and to identify needs ranging from industry analysis to workforce development.


His CMAP duties included an analysis of emerging and leading business trends in the region, as well as helping create the economic development component of a comprehensive regional plan known as “Go To 2040.”
...


11. Carpoolers Unite | Green News | Metro New Orleans


The Regional Planning Commission's (RPC) Metro New Orleans GreenRide is a ridesharing matchmaker — the program offers a free carpool matching service for metro New Orleans commuters. Create a profile, and the program will match you with commuters in your area. The program also will calculate your shared commute into cost savings and emissions reductions: how much gas will you save, and how much carbon emissions you will prevent from entering the atmosphere.


  The program, part of the RPC's Congestion Management Plan (itself a part of the comprehensive Metropolitan Transportation Plan), intends to reduce congestion on roads and highways. RPC transportation planner John King says GreenRide hopes to have up to 1,500 users within the program's first year. (Its first few weeks saw 100 registered users.) "It's all pretty new to us," King says. "We're still getting a feel for what works well in this region."
...


12. City Spatial Planning Bylaw Draft Agreed by Public Works Ministry - Jakarta


Jakarta Capital City Government has continuously insisted Jakarta City Council (DPRD) to accelerate the Jakarta bylaw draft of spatial plan for 2010-2030 ...


The draft has involved the concept of metropolitan priority area (MPA). MPA is a master plan of megapolitan expansion plan which is also listed within it.


Director of the Regional Spatial Development Area II, Directorate General of Spatial Planning, Kemenpu, Bahal Naiborhu Edison stated that the spatial resolution is not only a government duty alone because it will become regional development guidance which bring direct or indirect impact to the progress of regional development, the public and the private.


Meanwhile, Head of Regional Legislation Board (Balegda) of Jakarta City Council, Triwisaksana expressed that his party is striving hard to immediately ratify the draft before Jakarta`s anniversary on June 22, 2011.


13. EIB and Hungary give boost to development of Danube Region


Today, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Republic of Hungary signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. This Strategy identifies priorities for action in the fields of infrastructure, environmental protection, knowledge economy and the competitiveness of enterprises. Based on the good model developed for the Baltic Sea Strategy the EIB will contribute to coordinating the activities in the region.


The EU Strategy covers the Danube macro region, with a population of more than 100 million including parts of 8 EU Member States: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania and 6 non-EU countries: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova.
...


14. Due to the global financial crisis, regional sustainable development is immensely Inadequate- Robert Persaud


Progress in achieving sustainable development regionally has been immensely inadequate due to the global financial crisis. This is the view of Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud who was speaking at the United Nations Conference of sustainable development on the 20th June.


“In the midst of these constraints, the path to sustainable development becomes even more challenging, there no doubt that some progress have been made individually by states as well as collectively by regions in this regard” the minister said.


The Minister stressed that emphasis needs to be placed on attaining financial resources, technical expertise and regional cooperation.


The UN conference on sustainable development seeks to secure renewed political commitment between Caribbean countries, assess progress from previous meetings and address emerging challenges.


15. IMPLEMENT EAC PACTS TO EXPEDITE INTEGRATION


Although the East African Community (EAC) customs and union and the common market came into force in 2005 and 2010 respectively in efforts to ease trade and subsequently reduce poverty for 133.5 people in the region, problems abound.


Truly the five members of the EAC have succeeded in eliminating many of the tariffs on intra-regional trade.


But the trade growth is not as high and fast as it was expected because numerous non-tariff barriers are yet to be tackled.


It is surprising that even in the modern era when blocs such the Eurozone are expanding and galvanising themselves to deal with socioeconomic and terror challenges, some African leaders are still reluctant to adopt regionalism or Pan-Africanism as advocated by political icons such Kwame Nkrumah and Mwalimu Nyerere.
...
By the look of things, it will be difficult for the EAC’s monetary union to get off the ground next year as it is scheduled without implementing the customs union and common market protocols ....




More "region, regions, regional" resources tagged "re:*" with global geocodes:  
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Regional Communities - "Think Local Planet, Act Regionally." 

Regional Community Development News - June 15, 2011

1. Regionalism Run Rampant - Madison Magazine


My team and I are privileged to work with cities and companies across North America that are bent on staying—or becoming—magnets for great talent. We’ve worked in large cities like Nashville and small towns like Johnstown, Pennsylvania. No matter the size of the community, I’ve noticed a trend that’s both promising and problematic: regionalism.


Regionalism occurs when two or more cities, towns,villages, counties and so forth, decide to work together, usually on economic development. The rationale seems so simple, so intuitive: together, we can do more. There are also financial incentives: many federal and state grants require cities and counties to work together to apply for or receive funds. But like all good ideas, execution is what matters most, and I see some communities suffering from Regionalism Run Rampant. It is a precursor to the epidemic of Diluted Strategy and its even more deadly cousin, Disengaged Leadership.


To illustrate Regionalism Run Rampant let’s ...


2. New 100-year vision effort launched - Sign On San Diego


Capping a century of regional planning efforts, the San Diego Foundation is taking a different route to mapping the local future — a plan with a built-in implementation strategy.
...
Called “Our Greater San Diego Vision,” the initiative being launched at San Diego State University today involves four task forces, 150 “ambassadors” and $2 million in a high-tech-driven outreach to the public that coincidentally will end at the beginning of the 2012 election season.


“We care about San Diego, and we want to bring the parties together and try to move to a conclusion,” said Bill Geppert, chairman of the 13-member steering committee. “San Diego is such a great place, and yet it does take an inordinate amount of time to move through and make important decisions. Other communities have been more successful in doing it quicker. Denver built 10 major infrastructure projects in a 12-year period of time.”
...


3. A Power Grab Threat to New Canaan's Autonomy - New Canaan, CT Patch


Are we headed toward a return to county government? 


A Government “Power Grab” hurts job growth, the economy and stocks. There is an effort to convert the South Western Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) to a Council of Governments (COG).


SWRPA was organized to coordinate regional cooperation on inter-municipal issues of transportation, housing, community development, environment and open space and has no binding votes.


The effort, supported by New Canaan’s First Selectman, would create a COG with “binding votes” on its eight members. Governor Dannel Malloy has instructed his appointed Office of Policy and Management to approach elected officials in Fairfield County to vote in favor of the COG so that approval could be completed before the fall elections that could see changes among the SWRPA CEO’s.


The creation of a COG is the first step towards a return to county government empowered to control New Canaan’s municipal finances and allocate our tax dollars to regional COG programs benefiting the larger towns such as Norwalk and Stamford. There is movement to include Bridgeport in the Southwestern Connecticut Regional COG. The COG would be empowered to propose regional taxes such as a county property tax or sales tax to fund its programs. ... increase in taxes would further hurt the “soft” real estate prices and retail businesses. ...


4. Strategic Direction For Waikato Regional Development | Voxy 


Waikato Regional Council this week outlined a new strategic direction for regional development aimed at protecting the environment and boosting regional export growth and income.
...
From the early 1900s to 1970, New Zealand had a standard of living above the OECD average and on par with Australia. However, since then the gap in GDP per capita between New Zealand and Australia has widened. Average incomes in New Zealand are now 30 per cent lower than in Australia, despite New Zealanders working longer hours.


The Waikato GDP per capita dropped below the national level for the first time in 2007 and the gap is projected to widen over time.


“One major challenge for the region is to determine the best ways to contribute to the national goal of lifting New Zealand’s standards of living,” Cr Buckley said.


5. Coquitlam councillor Selina Robinson still seeking clarity on Regional Growth Strategy | Vancouver, Canada | Straight


Coquitlam remains the only Metro Vancouver municipality that has not ratified the Regional Growth Strategy. That’s because the municipality has a number of concerns around the landmark regional planning document.


Tuesday (June 14) marked the first meeting between Coquitlam council members and Metro Vancouver staff to seek a solution via non-binding arbitration.


Metro did not allow Coquitlam to switch its cameras on at City Hall to record the proceedings, according to Coun. Selina Robinson. However, Gerry McGuire, from a group called VCVYV—Vancouver Citizens Voice TV—filmed the meeting and posted several segments on YouTube.


In her remarks stating the case for Coquitlam, Robinson honed in once again on lands that are deemed “regionally significant”, an ongoing concern for the first-term councillor.


“I certainly struggled, and our council certainly struggled, around what it means to be regionally significant,” ...


6. Leadership Northern Colorado prepares for graduation | Northern Colorado Business Report


Leadership Northern Colorado has announced the graduation of its second class from the six-month program designed to educate participants on the issues facing the Northern Colorado region.
...
Leadership Northern Colorado is a joint initiative between the chambers of commerce in the cities of Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado and the Community Foundation Serving Greeley and Weld County. LNC is designed to build human capacity and identify, define and address issues in Northern Colorado.




7. Homeland Security funding approved for regional towns- The Register Citizen


After some previous hesitation by local officials voicing support for a spending plan by the state’s Department of Emergency Services and Homeland Security Region 5, the budget passed “overwhelmingly,” officials say.


According to Region 5 Coordinator Tom Vannini, the region’s representatives approved the DEMHS Regional Collaboration fiscal year 2010 grant, which provides funds to planning projects, training and equipment for public safety and emergency management. The federal grant totals $856,875 ...


The spending plan faced some concerns last week by the fiscally-conservative members of the Litchfield Council of Elected Officials (LHCEO), claiming the money was being wasted on unneeded items such as license plate readers for police vehicles and pole cameras for bridges, roofs and underground.


According to the spending plan, $45,000 is being used for the cameras and $168,875 for the license plate readers.


8. Plan for regional cooperation demonstration zone published - People's Daily Online


China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) yesterday published the construction plan for the country's first trans-regional cooperation demonstration zone, which will be located in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, ...


... Lianyungang Municipal Government held an introduction and promotion conference in Beijing to show the planning of the demonstration zone and the achievements of coastal development in that city.


The establishment of the demonstration zone to enhance economic cooperation among the country's east, central and western regions will help to make the best of the city's position as a seaport at the beginning of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge and to serve the development of open economy in China's central and western regions. It will also benefit the trans-regional flow and allocation of resources, providing experiences and acting as an example for the promotion of the integrated development among China's eastern, central and western regions.


9. Terrace Standard - Future of the northwest discussed at conference


CITY COUNCILLOR Bruce Bidgood spoke about the future of northwestern BC at a regional development conference being held in the mid-northern city of Ostersund, Sweden today.


He underlined the Northwest Transmission Line and the mines it is intended to stimulate, modernization of Rio Tinto Alcan's Kitimat aluminum smelter, the Kitimat liquefied natural gas plant and plans by Avanti to re-open a molybdenum deposit at Kitsault as examples of underway or pending industrial projects.


The conference is focussing on growing green technology and policies being applied to business and industry and is sponsored by local and regional governments in mid-northern Sweden and by the European Union.
...


"We have trees and lots of biomass," said Bidgood.
...
As a municipal councillor, Bidgood summarized Terrace's future as a series of questions, keying on how to develop an economy that is not subject to what has been a traditional boom and bust cycle.
...


10. MEPs seek to maintain regional aid spending | European Voice


The Parliament warns against shrinking the budget for cohesion policies.


MEPs are expected next week to urge EU member states to keep regional aid spending at current levels in the EU's post-2013 spending.


The European Parliament is scheduled to approve five reports on cohesion and regional policy during its 22-23 June mini-plenary in Brussels. One of the reports, drafted for the regional development committee by Markus Pieper, a German centre-right MEP, insists that a “well funded” cohesion policy continues to be essential to reduce regional economic disparities across the EU.


The report sees regional aid as a way of helping to meet the goals of the Europe 2020 jobs and growth strategy, and it suggests some simplification of the rules on allocating this funding, and greater flexibility in its use. But member states should manage the aid better, the report adds.
...




11. Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp - Business - The Sun News


The Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. executive committee Wednesday gave the go-ahead to negotiate to buy a property and to hire a consultant to create a plan that will identify properties the group should buy to lure businesses.
...
The committee voted to have Lofton talk to consultants who could evaluate what new buildings the corporation should consider building, what land it should consider purchasing and what existing buildings may add to the corporation's ability to attract businesses.


The EDC has $60,000 budgeted for consultants next year, pending final approval by the Horry County Council of $1.8 million in funding, which will be voted on next week.


The consultant would make recommendations that would steer the corporation's spending on property purchases, Lofton said.
...


12. HUD and EPA Collaborate on the Promotion of Sustainable Housing | Mortgage News 


U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson have announced a collaborative effort to build upon current federal investments for regions that support sustainable and livable communities. For the first time ever, HUD and EPA will join forces to competitively award $5.65 million to strengthen the capacity of existing sustainable communities grantees to create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods for American families.
...
Applications for the NOFA are due July 8, 2011. Non-profit organizations, local or state public agencies, for-profit organizations, nationally recognized and accredited Universities or Colleges, or any combination of eligible entities as a Capacity Building Team are eligible to apply for funding.


Notice of funding availability (NOFA)


13. Contemporary Northwest Art Awards -- The limits of regionalism | Oregon Live


Walking through the Portland Art Museum's second iteration of the Contemporary Northwest Art Awards, which opened last Saturday, I found myself wondering if, in 2011, such a thing as regional art exists.


The ease of global communication and travel coupled with the sheer volume of information at our fingertips has made contemporary art discourse accessible to artists everywhere. If the distance between major art markets and second- and third-tier outliers is erased, then how much of a role does geography actually play in cultivating a region's aesthetic sensibility?


The CNAAs, which replaced the museum's Oregon Biennial surveys, assert that regionalism is, indeed, alive and well, insistently carving out an identity for the Northwest that extends from Oregon and Washington to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
...


14. Hassinger honored with 2011 Outstanding Service Award by Central Mass Regional Planning Commission


Grafton man-of-all-boards, Robert Hassinger, was honored recently by the Central Mass Regional Planning Commission with the 2011 Outstanding Service Award.


Hassinger was recognized for his 20 years of contributions through dedicated service and leadership to the commission and its executive, transportation and physical development committees.
...




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Regional Community Development News - June 14, 2011

1. Visiting business leaders preach the gospel of regionalism - St. Louis Beacon


If St. Louis area business and government leaders needed any more reasons to embrace the gospel of regional cooperation to boost economic development, they got a powerful sermon on Tuesday: Other regions already are way out front.


Economic development experts from other regions met with St. Louis region business and government leaders to stress the importances of working together.


That was the lesson taught by economic development experts from Kansas City, Nashville and Oklahoma City. ... hammered home the point that intramural turf battles can't do anything but hurt a metropolitan area's efforts to attract businesses from an outside world that is focused on a much larger picture.


... chief economic development and marketing officer for the Nashville area chamber of commerce, put it: "Fighting is nothing but risk, and risk is the enemy of economic development."


... Kansas City Area Development Council: "We have to approach what we do as a region. We can't do it any other way."


...


2. Amazon's goal to eclipse 2,000 jobs - Business - The Sun News


Online retailer Amazon is looking to bring more jobs than the initial payroll of 2,000 to a distribution center it is opening this fall ...


..."We have a history of growing in states that welcome us. We want to grow here."


That goal was announced near the conclusion of a daylong celebration of Amazon's arrival in the Midlands, a gathering that seemed unlikely after a legislative setback in late April.


... credited the determination of area business and political leaders to revive a tax break for the $125 million project as a turning point in the conflict.
...
Lexington County leaders say the resurrection of the project taught them ways to better work together. 


It broke longtime barriers to regional cooperation, County Councilman Johnny Jeffcoat of Irmo said.


"This is the catalyst that brought it all together," Setzler said. Those ties will be useful in the future,


"This is the issue of today," he said. "Tomorrow, there will be another."


3. EDITORIAL: Regional economic development the right path to growth | The Jackson Sun


When it comes to economic development, bigger is better. That is why metropolitan areas such as Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga manage to attract big corporate investments, expansions and economic growth. These are tough business environments for smaller communities to compete against. That's why the regional approach to economic development involving Jackson-Madison County and several other West Tennessee cities and counties make sense.


Jackson has long been the economic hub of West Tennessee outside of Memphis-Shelby County. Even a community the size of Jackson-Madison County is hard pressed to compete with large urban areas. But when you begin to think regionally, rural West Tennessee becomes a more attractive potential business environment.


Non-urban areas can have advantages over large urban areas. ...


Gov. Bill Haslam has placed great emphasis on regional economic development by establishing nine regional centers to promote economic growth. ...
...


4. Region strives to be wind energy hub | The Columbian


A wind energy supply chain is emerging in the Portland-Vancouver region as manufacturers and economic development agencies step up efforts to win a growing piece of the global wind energy market.


..., regional economic development agencies, including the Columbia River Economic Development Council and the Portland Development Commission, are offering companies renewable energy training programs and are talking up the region at global wind power trade shows.
...


Most of the wind turbines in the U.S. are imported from foreign manufacturers, largely in China and Europe. Yet, regional wind energy boosters hope to make the Portland-Vancouver region a hub for the manufacture, installation, repair and maintenance of wind energy components.


The work to get there is under way. ...


5. Plans envision Pittsburgh airport of future | Pittsburgh Business Times


A pedestrian-friendly world trade center on Pittsburgh International Airport grounds. The green redevelopment of University Boulevard in Moon Township. The creation of a new high-tech town at the now-rural corner of Routes 22/30 and the Findlay Connector. These are some of the plans that could jump from the drawing board to reality in and around Pittsburgh International Airport within the next three or four decades.


... The idea is to create a Pittsburgh Aerotropolis, an economic region centered around an airport that combines the best of industrial, commercial, educational and residential development. The term was coined by John Kasarda, of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, who addressed the conference Monday at Robert Morris University.


There are already Aerotropolises in Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong and, most notably, Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
...


6. Bernard Ginns: Teamwork the key to delivering the goods in business - Business News - Yorkshire Post


THE Yorkshire International Business Convention is supposed to be about inspirational speakers inspiring an audience of Yorkshire business leaders.


But it was difficult to feel inspired about the local enterprise partnerships, whose chairmen took part in a debate at the conference.


... it is about the distinct lack of regional coherency in the whole set-up.


Mike Firth, the YIBC organiser, summed up the problem in his opening remarks.


“We have a real issue in Yorkshire with the demise of the regional development agency. I think we have lost our voice.


“Whatever you thought of Yorkshire Forward, it was connected to London. I’m really concerned that control is being moved back to London.”


Mr Firth added: “We need business to stand up and shout for Yorkshire.”


He’s right. Someone or something has to step into the void and promote the many interests of this unique region.


...


7. The Daily Home - Population rise draws talks of redistricting


PELL CITY — The City Council began formal talks about redistricting for next year’s election after the 2010 census showed a substantial increase in the city’s population.


Brett Isom, a geographic information systems administrator for the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, told the council Monday night that the city saw 33-34 percent growth since the last census, which will require a new form of government after the 2012 election.


“There’s no reason to think we can’t keep five districts,” Isom said.


The Regional Planning Commission helped the city re-establish voting districts after the 2000 census came out.


“We were able to maintain a minority district,” Isom said.
...


8. Council delays funding of Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority | The Charlotte Observer Newspaper


The Charlotte City Council passed its $1.6 billion budget Monday night, but voted to withhold $10 million slated for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority because of concerns with oversight at the city's tourism arm.
...
The CRVA board in April had voted to hire a consultant to review its operations after the Observer reported a staff member had been given $115,000 in bonus payments from the CIAA basketball tournament. In addition, the consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, was to review the authority's spending. The Observer reported that the CRVA spends money on local business leaders and public officials for dinners, drinks, sports and concert tickets as "thank you" gifts.


But after paying PricewaterhouseCoopers $25,000 plus expenses, the CRVA said it had no written report from the firm. Instead, it released to the media a 21/2-page summary of the consultant's findings, written by board members. 


The summary had few details.
...


9. Regional Group Greenlights Three Major Transportation Studies in Jersey City | The Jersey City Independent


Bus Rapid Transit to Journal Square, a bikeway along the Morris Canal and permanent mass transit into the heart Liberty State Park — these are the major transportation issues soon to be examined in Jersey City, now that the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) has authorized three new local studies as part of its Fiscal Year 2010-11 work program.
...
The studies are part of the NJTPA’s Subregional Studies Program, a competitive grant program designed to help counties and cities develop transportation improvement strategies rooted in the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan. The Liberty State Park and Morris Canal studies are estimated to cost $220,000 each, and the BRT study is estimated to cost $250,000, with funding beginning on July 1 and stretching over two years. All three studies will be paid for primarily with federal funds.
...


10. Area seeing more transit than road projects for first time - Post-Tribune


For the first time, local transit projects outnumber road projects in the 2012 to 2015 Transportation Implementation Program, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission directors said Tuesday.


“When people say transit is dying, we’re increasing it,” NIRPC director of planning Steve Strains said. “One hundred ninety-three is a significant number of transit projects.”


The 2012-2015 transportation improvement plan includes 193 transit projects, 161 local projects and 93 Indiana Department of Transportation highway projects.


While there are a greater number of transit projects, more funds are going to local and INDOT highway projects. ...

11. State moves to close 37 workforce development offices, even as legislators say ‘no’ - Iowa Politics

Iowa Workforce Development is shutting down 37 field offices statewide, despite top legislators from both political parties saying they oppose the plan.

The plan is expected to affect rural parts of the state the most. Lawmakers say it would cause some unemployed Iowans to have to drive up to 80 miles to one of 16 regional workforce development offices, rather than having a satellite 

office that’s closer to home.

...

Iowa Workforce Development Communications Coordinator Katie Hommer on Thursday told IowaPolitics.com that the budget plan calls for shutting 37 offices statewide, or two fewer than the original plan of closing 39 offices. A February news release from the department described it as a “reformed and enhanced delivery system” that would turn 55 field offices into “16 regional integrated one-stop offices and over 500 locally enhanced access points.

...

12. USL outlook on administration and regional development includes three stages till 2016 - Romanian News Agency


The outlook of the opposition Social Liberal Union (USL) on the public administration and regional development will be implemented in three stages, till 2016, but only after a referendum is held and the Constitution is amended, ...


In 2012 they should start transferring tasks from the central government to the regions and the Ministry of Regional Development is dissolved. In 2014 the local authorities will elect a regional council, headed by a regional chairman, and there will be a transition period till 2016 in order to take over the funds control.


In the USL outlook the central government retains regulating and controlling tasks and everything pertaining to development must devolve on the provinces.


Every region must have a big university, a big hospital, an airport, a business centre and a cultural centre, suggests USL.
...

13. WE SAY: Applying hard limits on tuna catches - Islands Business

The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) has once again shown that regionalism is very much alive and can work well for the benefit of the people of nations that choose to co-operate in the true spirit of the norms agreed upon by concerned signatories.

...

Last month, the Solomon Islands decided to close its territorial waters to international purse seiner vessels fishing in them. Observers are hailing this decision as one of the toughest stands taken by a Pacific Islands nation in favour of sustainable fisheries and in co-operating with other signatory member nations of the Parties of the Nauru Agreement.

...

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