A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
Northeast Ohio must further embrace regionalism to escape its economic doldrums, and there are many dangling opportunities on which to capitalize, said Cleveland's chief of regional development in a speech at the City Club on Tuesday.
The speaker, Chris Warren, identified specific goals, such as hammering out a regional revenue-sharing program by the end of next year, and laid out broad plans to unify the region.
"This is an ongoing journey to rebuild our city and create a thriving region, " he said. "Regionalism is critical and is within our reach."
Warren touched on many topics during his half-hour speech - from construction of a Medical Mart to protection of the environment. He touted many of Mayor Frank Jackson's programs and accomplishments.
Warren keyed on four areas to help Northeast Ohio thrive:
Cleveland must be strengthened as the region's flagship city. To encourage commercial and residential development, Jackson's administration is hoping City Council will pass legislation early next year to establish tax increment financing zones in select areas, including the Warehouse District and the emerging Avenue District near the Galleria downtown.
A regional …
Local leaders say they see evidence of regionalism in action. But the concept's broad nature can be confusing to some, …
Jackson, who attended the speech, said afterward that Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency's recent approval of a new Interstate 90 link in Avon, which included a tax-sharing pact between Avon and communities in Cuyahoga County, is a sign of progress.
Yet some members of NOACA have since threatened to leave the agency because they felt forced into the agreement. Jones, a member of NOACA's governing board, said the disagreement highlights the need for a regional tax-sharing strategy.
2. Regional Insights: Blueprint can help older industrial regions reinvent themselves - Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Last month's column ("Slow Job Growth is Reducing Our Labor Force, " Nov. 4) lamented the poor economic growth in the Pittsburgh region. Job creation here has been less than one-third the national rate for the past four years, with little signs of improving.
What's the solution? Last month, more than 50 experts and leaders in economic development from across the country met in Hershey as part of the 106th American Assembly in order to create a blueprint for growth in older industrial regions such as Pittsburgh. (The American Assembly was founded in 1950 by Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve as a national, nonpartisan forum on important public affairs issues.)
They agreed that if older industrial regions such as Pittsburgh want to be successful, they need to dramatically reinvent the way they approach economic development, both in terms of what their priorities should be and how they should go about achieving those priorities.
First on the Assembly's list of recommendations is placing a higher priority on promoting entrepreneurship. This is a particularly critical issue for the Pittsburgh region, since data recently published by the Pittsburgh Regional Indicators Project (www.PittsburghToday.org) show that, in virtually every industry, we rank dead last among similar regions in the rate at which new startup companies are created.
Key steps to helping startup companies are increasing access to early stage capital, also known as angel investment (see "Regional Insights: City's Future is In Angels, " Jan. 7, and providing training to prospective entrepreneurs. But it's more than just creating programs for entrepreneurs; it's creating a culture of entrepreneurship in the region. The Assembly report urges that "The leadership of these metropolitan areas -- public and private -- needs to celebrate, reward and incentivize entrepreneurial behavior as a key pathway to economic growth."
…
RC: Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
3. Shays sees 'One Coast/One Future' as example of regional business cooperation - Westport Minuteman - Westport, CT, USA
According to a number of local business professionals and Congressman Christopher Shays (R-4th District), coastal Fairfield County is an area primed for continued and sustained economic development. And one of the keys to the region's sustained economic development is cooperation.
To that end, One Coast/One Future, a regional economic development initiative, was formed in 2005 by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC), the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council of Fairfield County. The consortium's mission is to promote vibrant economic growth in the region by linking the many social and economic advantages offered by the three urban centers of Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford and the surrounding towns.
One Coast/One Future seeks to spark growth in the Bridgeport-Stamford corridor through cooperative, regional efforts. The initiative is designed to attract new and renewed economic growth, job creation and individual economic opportunity by linking the Coastal Fairfield County region's business centers in a new and stronger alliance for their mutual benefit. The effort has been funded by a $1 million federal grant procured by Shays. Also, Shays has helped shepherd $250, 000 for the project into the Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Services Appropriations Bill.
The funding, which is furnished by the Small Business Administration, will allow One Coast officials the flexibility to further projects throughout southwestern Connecticut. Shays requested the funding be included in the bill and has long championed the initiative, which has a direct economic impact on the communities of Westport, Weston, Fairfield and Easton.
...
RCs: South Western RPA Greater Bridgeport RPA Valley Council of Governments
4. Surprise! Oakland leads on regionalism - Detroit Free Press - United States
So the Cobo renovation is still a no-go, hung up at least partially on the bumbling power struggles and distrust that make regional politics in southeast Michigan seem like a poor man's Sopranos.
Fine. What else is new?
No doubt, Oakland County, as one of the actors in that sad drama, has to shoulder some of the blame there.
But County Executive L. Brooks Patterson wants you to know this: Regional cooperation can't be measured by any single issue. And if you want to talk about which county is investing heavily in the kind of regional efforts that matter, the things that help make government more efficient and business more successful, you won't find anyone doing more than Oakland.
Yes, that's Brooks Patterson, the bombastic, often controversial suburban big-mouth who's known for stoking regional -- and often racial -- tensions with outrageous comments. But he'll tell you to look at what he does, rather than what he says, to understand the role he and the state's wealthiest county are playing.
"We get along and work well with other counties, other governments, on 100 different things, " Patterson told me recently. "But no one wants to talk about that. We get hammered about Cobo all the time."
I was talking to Patterson in the boardroom of his Pontiac office suite. He was flanked by nearly a dozen members of his cabinet making his case to me about Oakland as regional cooperator.
It was impressive, to say the least.
They told me about Automation Alley, …
They talked to me about CLEMIS, a massive database of regionwide criminal statistics that was pioneered by Oakland and is operated largely at the county's own expense. Police departments and prosecutors from Genesee, Macomb, Wayne, Livingston and Washtenaw Counties participate.
...
RC: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments - SEMCOG
5. Bay Area Council and Bay Area Economic Forum agree to merge - By The San Francisco Sentinel
The Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum today announced their merger as a single organization to create one of the strongest advocacy and research organizations in the history of the Bay Area.
Since 1945, the Council has been the regional voice for Bay Area business. Using the combined clout of its CEO members, the Council has conceived of and shepherd through solutions to many of the region’s most pressing challenges in the areas of transportation, housing, water, education, infrastructure, environment, and global competitiveness.
The Economic Forum, founded in 1988 as a joint venture of the Bay Area Council and the Association of Bay Area Governments, has served for 19 years as a highly-respected source of independent, fact-based analysis and opinion on Bay Area economic issues, and has framed the debate on key state and regional public policies.
“The combination of our respective advocacy and research strengths will form an organization able to drive public opinion and political leadership to enact solutions to regional and state challenges with much greater speed and efficacy, ” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council.
“The acceleration of global economic competition demands this merger to best serve our region.”
The newly created Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the successor to the Forum, will become a chartered program of Council, operating as a public-private educational and policy research body.
…
Henry Gardner, Executive Director of the Association of Bay Area Governments, added, “The complex problems this region faces – and its many opportunities – call for new partnerships that reach across communities and jurisdictional boundaries. To do this we need to find new and creative ways to work together, with government as an active partner.”
6. All for One ... - TheReporter.com - Vacaville, CA, USA
Think regionally. It's a strategy that paid off last week when Bay Area and Central Valley officials stuck together to thwart an attempt by Southern California to snag more than its fair share of state bond money.
At issue was at least $2 billion set aside to improve highways and rail lines used to move freight to and from California's ports. The Trade Corridors Improvement Fund is part of the $20 billion Proposition 1B bond measure authorized by voters last year.
On Tuesday, the California Transportation Commission set out to decide what percentage of the money should go to which regions.
Southern California lobbied hard, claiming that it deserved 75 percent or more because the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the roads and rails through the Inland Empire, handle 85 percent of the state's trade.
But as Commissioner R. Kirk Lindsey rightfully pointed out, those Southern California ports are primarily handling goods coming into the state. Northern California's Port of Oakland handles the bulk of products leaving the state. You know, the state economy's money-makers: farm products from the Central Valley, wine from Napa and Sonoma counties, high-tech products from Silicon Valley.
Ferrying imports through Southern California may indeed contribute to congestion and smog levels there, but shipping exports through the Bay Area does the same here.
Thanks to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Bay Area and Central Valley coalition, the state board came to understand that and divided the funds equitably.
…
Bay Area and Central Valley legislators must follow the example set by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and think regionally.
7. National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) Appoints New Executive Director
The National Association of Regional Councils has appointed Fred Abousleman as their new Executive Director effective December 1, 2007. NARC’s governing Board – comprised of 25 local elected officials and four executive directors - unanimously chose to offer Mr. Abousleman the position at their November Board meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida.
During his 6-year tenure with NARC, Mr. Abousleman has served as Interim Executive Director, Deputy Director and Transportation Director for the Association.
Mr. Abousleman has played a pivotal role in strategically positioning NARC as a full service trade association during his tenure. He is a long-time advocate for regionalism in the areas of economic and community development, environment, transportation, and homeland security policy. He is currently working to secure new funding opportunities for the Association, launch new corporate and affinity programs, and solidify NARC’s position as a thought leader among today’s government, business and community leaders by leveraging the Association’s programs, services, and events.
Mr. Abousleman brings to the position an extensive and deep knowledge of regional development best practices, management and political experience. He has served as a Field Director on a presidential campaign, worked on policy issues at the state and federal levels, has extensive experience in federal government and in local development issues as a community planner. Prior to joining NARC, Mr. Abousleman worked for the Federal Highway Administration in Washington D.C.
A native of New Mexico, Mr. Abousleman holds dual Master’s degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Public Policy from the University of New Mexico (UNM). He has been extensively published in trade journals and newspapers across the country, is a national conference speaker on regionalism, was a Visiting Fellow at the Library of Congress, and holds other notable achievement awards.
8. Raytown wants residents to speak out on regional transit wishes at public forum on Thursday - Kansas City Star - MO, USA
Raytown envisions major development in regional transit, and officials want the city to be part of any future plan.
The city and its Chamber of Commerce on Thursday will be host to One KC Voice, a Mid-America Regional Council program that conducts ongoing public forums to raise awareness for regional transit plans.
The community discussion will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Raytown City Hall, 10000 E. 59th St.
“What the regional plan does is to make it more viable to travel between Raytown and other parts of the metro region, ” said Tim Truesdale, Raytown community-development director. “There are senior citizens in Raytown who will be able to benefit greatly from a more-robust transit system.”
The Raytown forum will be the 22nd of 25 or more meetings that One KC Voice plans to conduct. Truesdale says it is important to have a large turnout.
“The more folks we have here, the louder message we send that Raytown wants to weigh in on this issue, ” he said.
Liana Riesinger, One KC Voice coordinator, says the information gathered at the event would be useful in updating the transit plan.
9. Great Lakes states mull compact - Crain's Detroit Business - Detroit, MI, USA
The Detroit Regional Chamber, in partnership with the Washington-based Brookings Institution, will host up to 40 chambers from throughout the Midwest at a February conference in the Detroit area to build interstate unity on regional issues.
The gathering, planned for mid-February, is part of an ongoing effort by Brookings to promote a regional economic-development compact of states and to explore policy issues for the region that will affect next year’s presidential campaign.
Brookings has outlined common economic needs and policy objectives for a 12-state region dubbed the “Vital Center, ” in a report of the same name it released last year.
The region includes Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota and parts of Iowa, Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri.
“We want to review the report and discuss it with Brookings, since their representatives will be there at the meeting too, ” said Ed Wolking Jr., executive vice president of Detroit Regional Chamber, who is helping coordinate the conference.
“We also want to discuss and identify themes and messages to address with the 2008 presidential candidates to hear from chambers of commerce. Candidates tend to address the individual states individually, and many of those states have the same regional issues that they (candidates) should hear.”
John Austin, vice president of the State Board of Education and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, said he hopes up to 30 or 40 chambers or other institutions take part.
Wolking said four chambers are selecting and inviting the others to join the one- to two-day gathering, which is by invitation only.
They are Detroit, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting of chambers is one of several such conferences Brookings has helped coordinate to advance the Great Lakes Economic Initiative ...
10. U.S. regional communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles. Highlighted words are Google search terms. In this and the following section, links to websites of organizations are added to the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in the
.10 In our view: Focus on regionalism
Joplin Globe - Joplin, MO, USA
Spinning off the Joplin Sports Authority into a free-standing agency makes sense as long as the primary focus is broadening of the agency's mission from attracting sports events here to working with other communities on a regional basis....
.11 Texas airport a model to Detroit
Detroit Free Press - United States
Texas' model is one that Wayne County would like to emulate with its aerotropolis plan to create a thriving hub of economic activity tied to Metro and ...
.12 Metro Detroit collaboration on track, Ford says
Detroit Free Press - United States
Business and civic leader Edsel B. Ford II reported today that the regional cooperation effort known as One D was making progress one year ...
.13 Wireless Internet project moving forward
Livingston Daily - Livingston, MI, USA
The project originated with the so-called "Regional Cooperation Group" consisting of Hamburg, Brighton and Green Oak townships and the city of Brighton. ...
.14 Economic need for Corridor K reinforced
Cleveland Daily Banner - Cleveland, TN, USA
... the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Southeast Tennessee Development District, the Southeast Industrial Association and many local supporters. ...
.15 A late-date appeal for regionalism
TriCities.com - Johnson City, TN, USA
Bristol Virginia leaders, alone, started the Mendota Trail project. Now, they want to take a more regional approach. The city has invited Washington and Scott counties to participate....
.16 Joel Giambra, fallen star
Buffalo News - NY, United States
He intends to use the $800000 left in his campaign treasury to advance the cause of regionalism and rejuvenate the state Republican Party, which he hopes ...
.17 Baltimore so-so for walkablity?
Baltimore Sun - United States
I did question Leinberger's failure to include downtown Annapolis as a regionally significant walkable place in the Baltimore area. ...
.18 Sales tax collections could indicate economic slowdown
Cookeville Herald Citizen - Cookeville, TN, USA
"This could be the start of an economic slowdown in Putnam County, " said Henry Bowman of the Upper Cumberland Development District. ...
.19 REGIONALISM: 3 cities consider water/sewer consolidation
Tonawanda News - North Tonawanda, NY, USA
A groundbreaking three-city study of water and sewer systems looks more likely after a Wednesday meeting of the affected parties. ...
.20 Church to close 2 Hub schools, create regional system
Boston Globe - United States
Five parochial schools in Dorchester and Mattapan will be combined into a regionalized Catholic system, with renovated buildings, a restructured curriculum, and higher teacher salaries under a plan described to elected officials last night by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.
.21 Who's Watching the Watchdog?
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills, CA, USA
The paper loves regionalization (what paper doesn't these days). Regionalization means everybody pays but only one area benefits. ...
.22 Our View: Geotourism, worth pursuing, promoting
Sierra Sun – Nevada
Geotourism. To many, it's probably a nebulous concept, but one that should be examined for its potential positive effect on the Lake Tahoe Basin. ...
.23 USA Services Intergovernmental Newsletter
Maine Office of Information Technology
This newsletter explores some of the many ways technology is making government processes more accessible and expanding citizen participation in public policy decision-making.
.24 The Circuit Launches New Website in Response to Members' Needs
News & Observer - Raleigh, NC, USA
The Circuit is dedicated to raising awareness for the region's growing IT community by providing support and services for local technology professionals, ...
.25 Library Press Release: Inter-governmental Agreement between the Library District and the City of Fort Collins
The Fort Collins Regional Library District Board and the Fort Collins City Council want to know what you think of the pending Inter-Governmental Agreement IGA that describes the new relationship between the two governmental entities, ...
By Rita Gavelis(Metrowest MA Regional Library System)
Issued by Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System … The six Massachusetts regional library systems are seeking a consultant to develop a business plan for regional delivery services. ...
11. Other in the news: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 Danuta Hübner European Commissioner “Innovating Regional Economies – European Response to Globalisation”
Edubourse-om (Communiqués de presse) - Brie Comte Robert, France
Let me finish by one more example, which in a nutshell shows the potential that innovation has for the regional development - Basque Country and Guggenheim ...
.11 2008 Social Capitalist Awards – 45 Social Entrepreneurs who are Changing the World - Fast Company
Below you will find the organizations that are granted the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award. Along with the 45 world-changing nonprofits, we also honor ten companies not only striving to make a profit, but to also make a difference. …
.12 Meet Metrolinx: Regional transportation body adopts new name
National Post - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Plagued by public confusion about its acronym — the new regional transportation body was regularly mistaken for the GTAA (Greater Toronto Airports Authority) — the GTTA apparently trotted out several potential names to focus groups before selecting this one as a winner. ...
.13 Serious Games Combining Mobile Learning & Virtual Worlds
By Eliane Alhadeff(Eliane Alhadeff)
The Serious Games Institute is a regional development project, founded by Advantage West Midlands, which has grown out of a desire to identify and encourage growth areas for West Midlands industry. With computer games companies already ...
.14 Regions delivering innovation
A Staff Working Document 'Regions Delivering Innovation through Cohesion Policy' has been finalised for the Informal meeting of regional policy ministers in the Azores on 23-24 November providing an analysis of how innovation as a ...
.15 Summer water conservation starts this weekend
Scoop-co-nz - New Zealand
"We'll have advertisements each week in the papers showing the water use limits in each area and there is information on the Council and Regional Council websites on water use limits and river water levels....
.16 Vancouver region attracts fewer people from other metro areas than it gained
The Canadian Press -
OTTAWA - The Vancouver region attracted fewer people from other metropolitan areas across Canada than it gained from them in the last five years, ...
.17 Only 27% of backward region fund spent in 9 months
Business Standard - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Only around 27 per cent of the funds allocated to the flagship Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) in the budget has been spent in nine months of the fiscal year ...
.18 Planning transfer undermines democracy
eGov monitor - London, UK
Government proposals to transfer strategic planning powers from assemblies to regional development agencies are anti-democratic and will delay delivery of the South East Plan - a 20-year planning framework, says the South East England Regional Assembly. …
.19 Flood of immigrants causing strain on Canada's largest cities
The Canadian Press -
The province shifted to a more regionalized strategy about two years ago to ensure immigrants "establish themselves everywhere, " said Yolande James, ...
12. Blogs: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 BFD Learning Moment: Regional Indicators
By Ed Morrison
FFEF's Dashboard for Northeast Ohio. with. Regional indicators from Pittsburgh TODAY. and. Massachusetts MassTrack. and. The Boston Indicators Project. and. The Long Island Index. and. Puget Sound Regional Competitiveness Indicators ...
.11 Metros=Citistates
By Neal Peirce
Afficionados of regionalism will note that the pyramid "flip" idea featured in the column harkens back to the "reverse RFP" idea of a few years ago. As Keith Laughlin of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy e-mails: ...
.12 Richmond Planning -- An Unbiased Perspective
Therein lies the realm in which regional cooperation can comfortably grow. The myth that this realm is either large or growing, however, is just that – a myth. The Crupi report is developed on a "hole in the doughnut" model. ...
.13 Don't Fear A Truely Regional Plan
This continues to smack squarely in the face of anyone that pushes too hard for regional cooperation. Legislators at the local, county and state level worry that voters will revolt if he/she gives away local control to a regional plan. ...
.14 Is your City Hall sinking?
By Robert David Sullivan
Home rule is a nice tradition but it needs 21st-century adjustment to allow more regionalization. Collective bargaining is a 19th-century anachronism and should be abolished... And on public education:. Maintenance should be encouraged ...
.15 Cultural boundaries and the killing of Cornwall
By ourkingdom
I think it worthwhile posting the findings of a study on inter ethnic violence undertaken at the New England Complex Systems Institute - Global Pattern Formation and Ethnic/Cultural Violence. The concluding remarks are: We identify a process of global pattern formation that causes regions to differentiate by culture. Violence arises at boundaries between regions that are not sufficiently well defined. ...
.16 The English Question and English Regionalism
By cornubian(cornubian)
The above articles make for some very interesting reading on English regionalism however the views expressed still seem to be the sclerotic and fixed approach that will only consider devolution to artificial government zones and not the ...
.17 Regions can work for England
By ourkingdom
I have no desire to define how authentic the English regions are or are not. Even if they are entirely fabricated, is it really a reason to ignore them as potential engines of development? Many of the socio-economic reasons behind ...
.18 The real story of Prescott's regions
By ourkingdom
Peter Davidson (Alderley Edge): Groups implacably opposed to any notion of English Regional devolution repeatedly focus on the overwhelming rejection of an elected assembly for North East England during the November 2004 referendum. ...
.19 Vital Signs: when will our region be sustainable?
By WorldChanging Team
WorldChanging Team: [DOTT 07 was an incredible exploration into tackling big problems by blending leading-edge design thinking with insights from local people involved in grassroots innovation in...
.20 The Ill Effect of Regionalism
By sam_dudley(TJE)
In Chapter Six of The Working Landscape, Peter Cannavo stresses the importance of compromise and democratization in determining the future of land-use politics in the United States. Cannavo argues that the decision to develop or ...
.21 Is Chesterfield in Decline?
By Alter of Freedom(Alter of Freedom)
The entire region is experiencing these issues , which is why you will hear more about regional cooperation in the coming years. No one has the revenues to adequetely address all the needs each area has with regard to transportation and ...
.22 New technologies and innovation in higher education and regional development
Conmergence - facilitating convergence - By Ed Dodds
The first is the trend towards increasing mobility; the second is the growing interdependence of different parts of the world, their increasing interaction and cooperation in the economy, production, social development, ...
.23 Plans for Thameside 'eco-region'
By Greenbang
In a £9 billion redevelopment project, the UK Housing Ministry has plans for a 40 mile-long 'eco-region'. It's proposed the Thames Gateway would be water-neutral (meaning no extra water would be used), feature carbon-zero buildings and ...
.24 Academic Network Conference 07 (11)
By Jak Boumans(Jak Boumans)
Technological and organisational changes are as rapid and radical as in urban regions but the regional development is negative in terms of the economics and the decreasing population. In this situation, there is a danger of falling into ...
.25 Comment on MTA Chief Lee Sander Gets Megamodal by Larry Littlefield
By Larry Littlefield
The Fall 2007 issue of the NYU Rudin Center's New York Transportation Journal is out and for anyone looking to delve into some wonkish, big picture, regional transportation policy issues, it's worth a download....
.26 Econ Dev Blog No. 3 - Some statistics on corporations
The solar systems, outside of Empire space are sometimes split into the southern and northern regions and here we will use the same definition by dividing the non-empire regions into northern and southern regions. ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links
.10 Regions: The Dilemmas of Integration and Competition?
Regional Studies Association Annual International Conference -
Prague, The Czech Republic, 27-30 May 2008
For the full call for papers visit our website, or contact the office on
events@rsa-ls.ac.uk for more information.
.12 The Next American City (magazine)
The Next American City Inc. was founded by a new generation of urban thinkers and leaders to explore the transformation of America’s cities and suburbs, examining how and why our built environment, economy, society and culture are changing.
.13 State Energy Efficiency Index – Alliance to Save Energy
Learn how states are promoting energy efficiency through laws and regulations. Click by state or by policy area to see a full listing of energy efficiency policies.
.14 Kids View the Future – Video
Childen describe their postcards to the future in this 2007 video produced by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Welcome to the second issue of the Data Strategy Journal. Like other sophomore efforts, we are benefiting from lessons learned from our first issue. …
14. Google News for “Regional Community”
Other menu sections available from this link include: regions, regional, regional community, region, Regional Council, regional development and other search terms. They can be sorted by date or relevance. These are among the 50 search terms I use to produce this newsletter.
My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see regions work." Regional Community Development News is published weekly based on news reports as of Wednesday.
Making visible analysis and actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities. "Think local planet, act regionally, " is my candidate paradigm. (No one said we're only allowed one paradigm.)
We can see that “regional communities” are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional regional community has DNA: it is geographically Defined; has a common Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation, reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to see the regional communities that already exist.
News references are found using the Google News search service. Media article links are “fair use” to transform globally scattered reports to make regional approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be seen by new customers. “Regional” is an emerging news category. There is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use, though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.
To read and search previous issues go to: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/
The term “Development” was added to the name in January, 2006.
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Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@comcast.net or Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP Making regions visible for Leaders and Problem-solvers. www.regionalintelligence.com or www.regions.ws