City News

They're young, creative and seek a quality of life not found elsewhere - and the region's economic rebound rests on their tech-savvy shoulders.

By Henry J. Holcomb

Inquirer Staff Writer

With the United States facing a shortage of workers in creative vocations, the regions that attract the most 25- to 34-year-olds over the next decade will become the nation's most prosperous.

And the Philadelphia region - with its diversity of cultures and opportunities, tolerance for "new ideas and tattoos," and 83 colleges and universities - could be among the winners.

These were conclusions of a study released yesterday and discussed at a conference on how to build the region's "creative economy."

Sept. 13, 2004 (Washington, DC) - The physical design of any city is shaped in large part by its mayor. But most mayors come to office with little experience or training for their duties as chief urban designers of their cities.

Nine mayors from across the United States will learn how to be effective urban designers of their cities when they travel to Charleston, South Carolina, September 15-17, 2004 to attend the Mayors' Institute on City Design. It is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts carried out in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors.

September 12, 2004 (Washington, D.C.) - Laying the foundation for its third decade of helping U.S. mayors improve their cities, the Mayors' Institute of City Design has appointed Carol Coletta, a nationally-known public affairs consultant and host/producer of "Smart City," as its new executive director.

The Mayors' Institute of City Design (MICD), established in 1986 by the National Endowment for the Arts, is administered by the American Architectural Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The Portland area sports the country's fourth-fastest growth rate among college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds.

So says local economist Joe Cortright, who studied the trend for the report "The Young and the Restless: How Portland Competes for Talent."

Cortright and consultant Carol Coletta maintain that those within that age bracket flock to cities that welcome new ideas and encourage diversity.

They're young. They're educated. They're mobile. And increasingly, they're calling Portland home.

A new study by Portland economist Joe Cortright and Memphis, Tenn., urban consultant Carol Coletta documents and examines the continuing migration of young, well-educated people to the Portland area.

Richmond has some work to do.

The region is no hot spot when it comes to luring those elusive twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who will be so important to economic growth in the coming decades.

A study sponsored by a half-dozen leading civic groups found that, by several measures, the Richmond area ranks near the bottom third of the nation's 50 largest metro areas when it comes to attracting people between 25 and 34 years old.

As college students and recent graduates ponder what to do next, a range of midsize and smaller cities - and even some larger ones - are launching new programs designed to lure them there.

The programs, designed to attract and retain more young college grads, are an attempt to counter a demographic shift that is alarming some cities. Only 14 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. had more 25-to-34 year olds in 2000 than they did in 1990, according to an analysis by economist Joseph Cortright, who studies regional economies.

Continental Airlines begins nonstop service from Little Rock to its Newark, N.J., hub on Friday, June 18, and while the planes are small and the flights are few, the new travel option is a significant vote of confidence in the Central Arkansas economy and possibly a prestige-builder for the city.

Creative Tampa Bay has just published "The Young and the Restless" study by economist Joe Cortright and "Smart City" host and Smart City Consulting president Carol Coletta.

Fresno's greatest hope for economic vitality in the future could be its ideas.

And where do ideas grow? Everywhere - and to some degree in everyone - but the creativity nursery often is busiest in the young and the restless, two of Fresno's most plentiful assets.

Elected officials around the country are genuflecting to youth, begging them to move to their cities in the latest gambit in economic development- landing 25- to 34-year-olds, the set with the moxie and ideas to create wealth.

By Carol Coletta

Cities today are competing in a new economy characterized by disturbing realities. A jobless recovery and the threat of 14 million jobs moving offshore create an urgent need for creativity and innovation.

nrandolph@theadvocate.com

Surveying a Radisson Hotel conference room of 800 attendees at Gov. Kathleen Blanco's economic development summit Wednesday, creative guru Carol Coletta told the mainly middle-age crowd that the key for cities to counter job losses abroad is embracing an entrepreneurial, creative economy.

The old Southern formula of poaching off Northeastern manufacturing jobs with cheaper wages is gone. Computer programmers in Bangalore, India, earn $6,000 to $10,000 a year, a fraction of U.S. programmers, said Coletta, president of Smart City Consulting and host of the syndicated radio show "Smart City." China is undercutting jobs from Mexico, she said. MORE...

Don't be an El Camino.

And dare to deviate.

Urban growth expert Carol Coletta said the El Camino metaphor - a city that can't decide what it really wants to be - surfaced from a focus group participant at a recent stop during speaking engagements. She was referring to an old Chevrolet product - half car, half pickup.

Syndicated columnist Neal Peirce reports on the Memphis Manifesto Summit in more than 100 U.S. newspapers:
By Neal Peirce
Washington Post Writers Group

The theory's sounded great ever since Richard Florida expounded it in his 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class: cities will prosper if they lay out a welcome mat for people who specialize in creative ideas...

Syndicated columnist and urban expert Neal Peirce follows up his earlier column about the Memphis Manifesto Summit: Just what does it take to be a "young creative" -- a member of the newly-celebrated class of talented people who are said...

Smart City, hosted by Carol Coletta, organizer of the Manifesto Summit, focuses on the role of arts in urban life and the Creative Class' arts interests. The program can be heard here. Creative 100 member Steven Wolff, founding Principal...

The Tampa Tribune reports on Carol Coletta's work on positioning the city as a creative community:
By DAVE SIMANOFF

TAMPA - Throw away those marketing books. The Tampa Bay area will build its identity not with witty slogans and color-coordinated advertising campaigns, but by relating stories about its colorful past and...

Planetizen.com, a valuable resource for anyone interested in urban development, has announced its top 50 websites for 2003. Smart City, the syndicated public radio interview program, was chosen for this select list. It is hosted and produced by firm president Carol Coletta...

USA Today reports on the Memphis Manifesto Summit and the creative class' importance to cities, including an interview with Carol Coletta:
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

CINCINNATI -- In the staid Bankers Club, young men and women mix it up with powerbrokers over beer, wine...

On NPR's Talk of the Nation program October 21, Carol Coletta speaks on how cities are attracting young professionals.

To hear the program, Click Here

Questions discussed were: how would you "sell" the city where you live to other people? Would you market its restaurants, parks, public...

As Corpus Christi considers plans for its waterfront, Creative 100's Neal Falgoust reports on his hometown's efforts. This article includes advice from Manifesto Summit organizer and co-host Carol Coletta.

From the Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Overcoming red tape and criticism is...

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports on Summit organizer Carol Coletta's speech:

Forum speaker advises against 'boring' as asset By Sherry Slater The Journal Gazette Fort Wayne needs a common, clear vision for its future that will attract the best and...

The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reports on a CEO forum featuring Summit organizer and co-host Carol Coletta as keynote speaker:
By Doug LeDuc

If it wants to position itself for emerging economic activity, Fort Wayne needs a climate where ideas move quickly and deviance...

From Denver Post, Carol Coletta speaks on lessons learned from her work on creative communities:
By Louis Aguilar

The idea Mayor John Hickenlooper hails as "the most relevant economic development plan" for Denver condemns huge corporate tax subsidies and calls building pro sports stadiums passe. He's a faithful disciple of the "Creative...

Five stalwarts of the Memphis Manifesto Summit -- organizer and co-host Carol Coletta of Memphis: facilitator Bill Bulick of Creative Planning, Portland, Oregon; and Creative 100 members Colin Jackson, head of EPCOR in Calgary, Canada; Andrew Taylor of Bolz Center for Arts Administration; and Steven Wolff of AMS Planning -- have produced a monograph which applies some of the principles discussed at the Summit.

MEMPHIS On a Tuesday night at a downtown lounge here, Ryan Flickinger, 30, was preaching the economics...

National headlines teem with debates about old people (Medicare) and married people (will gay marriage change the institution?). But locally, officials are eyeing a very different demographic. Tampa spent years turning Ybor City, an old cigar-making district.