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Ed Morrison · BFD Learning Moment: Rethinking Philadelphia
April 28th, 2009
A special section of the Philly News:
Some interesting articles:
Economic, social and environmental forces – not to mention a new president – are transforming the nation and the world with breathtaking speed.
They are also fueling an almost about-face in the fortunes of the Philadelphia region, propelling it to the forefront of the coming change. A renewed focus on metropolitan regions, especially older, denser core cities and their surrounding suburbs, like this one, has been building for the last few years. In recent months, the focus has become sharper and the future clearer.
The metropolitan moment
The big shifts in national policy on the environment, energy and transportation are all well-suited to collective decision-making. And federal economic stimulus money is also targeted to these areas, as well as foreclosure prevention and workforce development, which also reap benefits that go beyond county boundaries
The big idea: Think globally, act collectively The new Metropolitan Caucus announced earlier this year brings together local elected officials from the five counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia) to focus on issues of common interest.
City makes new friends “Every state and every region in the country is stuck with some form of anachronistic and expensive local government structure that dates to horse-drawn wagons, family farms and small-town convenience . . . it’s time to reorganize our state and local government structures for today’s realties rather than cling to the sensibilities of the 20th century.”
Forget ‘Kumbaya’: The dirty little secret on regional thinking
Last 5 posts by Ed Morrison
- Signing off - February 3rd, 2012
- "The current global development model is unsustainable" - February 1st, 2012
- Market opportunities for developing Chicago's green economy - January 29th, 2012
- Plain Dealer flubs its explanation for firing Tony Grossi - January 27th, 2012
- Linking and leveraging university assets to strengthen regional economies - January 27th, 2012
April 29th, 2009 at 11:44 am
“Kumbaya” is a refreshing exercise in realpolitik. In ClevelandSpeak, regionalism is good if taxpayers outside the city have to tax themselves to pay for activities that will benefit “the core city,” and bad if Cleveland must do anything which will benefit suburban taxpayers in any way.
Add into the mix over 60 political subdivisions in Cuyahoga County alone, and probably twice that number in the 8-county region, each with its own fiefdom/patronage privileges, and it’s easy to see why it’s much easier for local entities to talk about regionalism than it is to act like regionalism matters.
It’s an old Polk-ism to say that “The problem with being a leader is sometimes you actually have to lead…” not “collaborate,” not “facilitate,” but lead…