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8 Fostering Local Institutions to Manage the Transition
Pages 152-170

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From page 152...
... Although institutions must reflect local conditions, three elements stand out as important for an effective urban development process. The first is development of a strong, independent capacity for urban intelligence.
From page 153...
... When all three exist, it is much more likely that an urban area can use its land, facilities, capital leverage, and human resources in a manner that advances its development. BUILDING A CAPACITY FOR URBAN INTELLIGENCE Given the differences among urban areas described in Chapter 2 and the complexities of urban development in an advanced economy, each area needs its own strong research and information capacity that is linked to its decision-making process.
From page 154...
... A close examination of the local economy may identify firms that are particularly innovative, and even more important, existing or potential linkages among innovative sectors that can produce demands for other services or man
From page 155...
... This kind of information may also help in making decisions about the need for a different mix of public services, investments in facilities and amenities, and changes in the location of activities or in the transportation and communications systems. Organizing the Intelligence Function An Urban Council of Economic Advisers The experiences of cities and metropolitian areas that have made reasonable progress in developing research and information systems suggest the ingredients of a sound urban intelligence system.
From page 156...
... Improving the Quality of Regional and Urban Data The federal government can assist in the development of the urban intelligence function in several important ways without intruding directly into the often delicate and unique local processes of establishing and maintaining it. The federal government can improve the quality of the information that is available to such groups, in particular, the quality of regional and sectoral statistics.
From page 157...
... . 3 These include state and local planning assistance, economic development agencies, urban development organizations, intergovernmental clearinghouses for federal grant programs, and coordination processes for many specific grant programs, such as those for transportation and sewerage systems.
From page 158...
... While a number of options are available for providing a national support institution for local economic information and development activities, the most obvious approach would be to strengthen the existing organizations of governments, professionals, and officials, operating through an existing or new consortium but one expanded to include private sector groups such as the Committee for Economic Development and the Urban Land Institute. PUBLIC-PRIVATE LEADERSHIP There is some possibility that public-private partnership will become the nostrum for the 1980s that community participation was for the 1960s.
From page 159...
... It often means a political climate in which officials and corporate leaders can openly collaborate. The corporate leaders must view the government as competent and as reasonably honest in its dealings with investors; public officials must see corporate leadership as public spirited and as a potential ally rather than as a dedicated adversary.
From page 160...
... Public officials must respond to jurisdictional constituencies and clientele under sanction of both politics and law. Corporations are usually primarily concerned with narrower or more specialized groups—stockholders, employees, customers, and suppliers in a national or international rather than a local context.
From page 161...
... These institutions must have the resources and leadership to work with private institutions to offer a vision of a more promising future for the community and the administrative, fiscal, and legal skills to translate concepts and visions into development projects, jobs and education programs, and other facilities or services. In many communities it may be useful to combine planning and economic development efforts to strengthen the ability of both to advise the city's leadership and carry out its decisions.
From page 162...
... Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Dallas, and Denver illustrate how such partnerships have evolved and suggest both the range of organizational arrangements and the limitations on policy involvements of such partnerships in the formulation of economic development strategy. Pittsburgh's Allegheny Conference is one of the oldest corporate community leadership organizations in the country.
From page 163...
... The Dallas Citizens Council, consisting of the chief executive officers of the major corporations located in the city, has been a means of reaching consensus within the corporate leadership on major community issues (Claggett, 19824. In Denver, corporate and development interests formed the Denver Partnership, which has produced a development plan for a major sector of the central business district.
From page 164...
... This is a greatly varied sector, ranging from major educational and health organizations, philanthropic organizations, and research institutes, to storefront service centers, community organizations, and volunteer groups. In many cities the independent sector funds or operates a large share of the complex of libraries, theaters, museums, health facilities, and cultural centers and programs that are increasingly important in the economic development strategies of urban areas as well as in enrichments to community life (Salamon, 19831.
From page 165...
... To the extent that this source of capital is siphoned off to support operating expenses of established day care centers, community improvement organizations, health clinics, and job training programs, less money is available to introduce new ideas or create new ventures that may prove to be more effective ways of tackling urban problems. It is also important to remember that federal funds have been major sources of support for many nonprofit organizations and have in fact helped stimulate the growth of the independent sector as an alternative to the public sector as the sole provider of many urban services (Salamon, 19831.
From page 166...
... In Washington, D.C., the Greater Washington Research Center was able to assemble a distinguished panel of business and community leaders to examine the long-range fiscal issues of the region's local governments. The decision of the Kansas City Association of Trusts and Foundations in the late 1 960s to concentrate philanthropic resources on the development of medical education and services in the metropolitan area has had an important and lasting effect on the local economy.
From page 167...
... Community foundations can often attract strong community leaders to their boards, and they can usually afford permanent professional staff, making their programs less subject to idiosyncratic choice by a single director or trustee. Developing some process for coordinating the activities of the independent sector should be a high priority for urban areas.
From page 168...
... The private development organizations that have represented corporate leadership have worked well in tandem with public development agencies. Development, largely that involving land investments, is an area of public policy that is congenial to large corporations, which are concerned often for their own facilities or for other land uses that are of interest to them such as hotels and convention centers.
From page 169...
... Strong consideration should also be given in an overall economic development strategy to the use of the private and independent sectors in improving the delivery of public services. Corporate leadership can be especially useful in advising local government on fiscal issues, in supporting bond issues for the maintenance or construction of facilities, and in providing advice on management systems.
From page 170...
... SUMMARY The creation of local institutions to manage the transition of urban economies can follow no standard format. Local civic cultures, interjurisdictional politics, and the composition of leadership in the private and independent sectors are all important factors.


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