THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501170469
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES T. RHODES
LENGTH: Long : 218 lines
As a businessman whose company has deep roots in the Old Dominion, I share the sense of urgency that many express in regard to the declining condition of our cities. And I firmly believe the business community must take an active role in creating a vision for urban Virginia that will help our cities compete in tomorrow's regional, national and international marketplace.
Virginia's cities face a host of difficult challenges: lost job opportunities, shrinking population and income, rising crime and drug abuse, and an overburdened system of public education.
Despite these problems, I believe the climate for progress is more favorable now than at any time in recent history.
I am optimistic that we can achieve in Virginia what others have achieved, if we articulate a broader community vision and a broader regional purpose. That effort will require an unprecedented level of cooperation and commitment from the state's key decision-makers.
We are fortunate to have as the commonwealth's chief executive officer a man who has made economic development one of the cornerstones of his administration. In today's intensely competitive economic development climate, the leadership and support of George Allen will be absolutely critical to our success.
Numerous factors contribute to or detract from the economic and social vitality of our cities - employment, population growth, income and housing, poverty and crime, for example.
Let's consider the positive aspects first.
A 1993 study conducted by the National Association of State Development Agencies for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce listed seven primary competitive strengths found in Virginia. They include:
Strong right-to-work laws.
Good transportation networks and infrastructure.
Competent state government and legislative leadership.
A pro-business climate.
Good location to markets and population centers along the eastern seaboard.
An equitable tax structure.
An adequate and affordable labor supply.
These factors contribute to making our cities the centers of culture, commerce and government in the commonwealth.
Unfortunately, there is another side to the story - one that reveals a troubling degree of distress in our urban areas.
According to a report issued by the Virginia Commission on Local Governance, Virginia is witnessing the steady deterioration of many of its cities and towns.
This study looked at the demographic, socioeconomic and fiscal trends experienced by Virginia's cities and counties during the 1980s. It concluded that the problems currently faced by our older urban areas will inevitably migrate to the surrounding counties and rural areas, affecting the economic health of the entire region.
On virtually every socioeconomic front, the study showed that already existing disparities between our cities and suburbs widened during the last decade.
Population growth in the suburbs and counties outstripped the cities by a substantial margin during the 1980s. This had a substantial impact on employment. For example, fully two-thirds of the state's job growth occurred in the counties. They gained 34,000 manufacturing positions, while the cities lost 21,000 of these jobs during the decade. Higher tax rates, lease rates and land costs in the cities relative to the counties clearly played a role in this phenomenon.
In addition to and following the population shift to the counties, commerce rose substantially - a fact confirmed by the erosion of taxable sales in the cities and an accompanying increase in the counties.
These and other changes in the demographic and commercial aspects of municipal life have had a significant impact on incomes, housing and social concerns of our cities as well.
Other recent studies reveal a growing disparity between our cities and suburbs with respect to the number of families in poverty, the crime rate, teenage pregnancies and infant mortality, to name a few.
These various social trends have made a notable contribution to the fiscal strain on our urban areas. Municipalities have had to spend more resources just to maintain government services, while coping with declining tax bases. This situation could worsen if Congress decides to cut aid programs further, forcing cities to absorb additional costs.
All these economic and social conditions affect the competitiveness of our cities. But a key point bears repeating: A declining urban core will affect the suburban communities that surround it, and the economic strength of the entire region will suffer. So when the suburbs turn their backs on their core cities, or when cities fail to cooperate with their suburbs, they do great harm to their own prosperity.
That's why it is so important for everyone to have a place at the table and to work as partners to find solutions to these complex problems.
Syndicated columnist Neil Peirce, in his book ``Citistates: How Urban America Can Prosper in a Competitive World,'' argues convincingly that our national economy is really made up of a constellation of regional economies, each having a major city at its core. Peirce points out that in today's world, every city needs a clear understanding of where it stands vis-a-vis its global competitors, not just its regional or even national competitors.
From this perspective, Richmond, Roanoke and Norfolk should be keeping a close eye not only on the Charlottes and Atlantas, but also on the Berlins and Barcelonas of the world.
Seen from this larger context, economic development becomes a question of identifying and nurturing our cities' special qualities in the new global economic order. Local government efficiency becomes an issue of global competitiveness - whether we're talking about the infrastructure, the environment, or human services.
If we agree with the ideas advanced by Neil Peirce and others, our challenge is to forge a new identity for our cities, based not on their old political boundaries, but on their true identities as centers of regional economies functioning in a global marketplace.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: What are we in Virginia doing to prepare our cities - and our region - to compete with other world-class places for jobs, new investment and quality of life?
It seems to me that our most pressing need is to think and act more strategically and regionally.
Let me give you several examples that demonstrate what strategic thinking, regional cooperation and resource-sharing can achieve.
The first is drawn from the Peninsula area of Virginia - an area traditionally dependent on defense for jobs and income. There, community and business leaders saw a need several years ago to diversify the regional economy and formulate a vision for the future - a vision that would capitalize on the area's existing strengths in research and development.
In answer to this vision, the Peninsula Advanced Technology Center was created as a business and community-based arm of the Peninsula Economic Development Council. Its goal is to foster the growth of existing technology-based manufacturing and service businesses, encourage the development of new enterprises and attract new investment to the Peninsula area.
Thanks to strong leadership and a regional focus, the Advanced Technology Center has achieved significant results in its defense conversion efforts in just a few short years.
A second example comes from Winchester. There, the Winchester/Frederick County Economic Development Commission formed an alliance in 1990 with three other counties in three states - all along a 75-mile stretch of the Interstate 81 corridor. The alliance is known as ``I-81 QUADCO'' and its mission is to promote the competitive advantages of the Cumberland and Shenandoah Valleys.
QUADCO is involved in developing a regional manufacturing center that will provide a wide range of technical services to the area's manufacturers - major companies like General Motors, Rubbermaid and Hershey Foods. And because its focus is on regional needs without regard to political boundaries, QUADCO could well become a model of effective interstate regionalism.
Central Virginia, as well as other areas of the state, hashave made progress, too.
For example, we have a Metro Chamber of Commerce and a new regional economic development partnership. There is the United Way -- a regional voluntary partnership that has successfully broken down jurisdictional barriers and carried out its mission of improving the quality of life for thousands who depend on its services. There are arts organizations which draw from areas spanning multiple geographic boundaries.
All of these efforts have added to the prosperity and quality of life in Virginia. All have overcome real and perceived barriers to working together for the common good.
These success stories suggest that across the commonwealth, we must begin to think differently about how we govern.
We must adopt a broader perspective and reach for a bigger idea, a vision of our cities that's large enough to bring together all parties across old political, geographic and philosophical barriers.
From a regional business perspective, we must do a better job of training our workers, linking our high schools and community colleges and providing technical education that transcends political boundaries.
We also must look at the way human services are delivered. Is it cost-effective to provide them on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, or can we find new incentives to help our regions fight poverty and crime in unison?
If we accept the premise that regional prosperity can only be achieved through a commitment to identifying key problems and working on them as partners, then we will begin the long journey toward reversing the decline of our cities and create solutions that play to their strengths and unique traditions. Only then will we be able to bring new vitality and energy to all areas of the Commonwealth.
The next few years will be critical. Dialogue and discussion are important, but alone, they will not get the job done.
It's like the old proverb that says, ``Nodding the head does not row the boat.'' The time to start rowing is now, before the current gets too strong.
The stakes are high, the competition is stiff, and the challenge is big enough for all of us to share.
Achieving examples:
Peninsula: Community and business leaders diversified the regional economy and formulated a vision for the future. This has capitalized on the area's existing strengths in research and development.
Winchester: An alliance known as QUADCO was formed in 1990 with three other counties in three different states. Its mission to promote the competitive advantages of the Cumberland and Shenandoah Valleys and to develop a regional manufacturing center that will proved technical services to the area's manufacturers. Its focus on regional rather than political boundaries could well become a model of interstate regionalism.
Central Virginia: Metro Chamber of Commerce and the United Way are examples of regional voluntary partnerships that have successfully broken down jurisdictional and multigeographic boundaries.
Achieving examples: ILLUSTRATION: JOHN EARLE/Staff
Color photo
Excerpted from a speech by James T. Rhodes, president and CEO of
Virginia Power.
Graphic
HIGH ACHIEVERS
Peninsula: Community and business leaders diversified the
regional economy and formulated a vision for the future. This has
capitalized on the area's existing strengths in research and
development.
Winchester: An alliance known as QUADCO was formed in 1990 with
three other counties in three different states. Its mission to
promote the competitive advantages of the Cumberland and Shenandoah
Valleys and to develop a regional manufacturing center that will
provide technical services to the area's manufacturers. Its focus on
regional rather than political boundaries could well become a model
of interstate regionalism.
Central Virginia: Metro Chamber of Commerce and the United Way
are examples of regional voluntary partnerships that have
successfully broken down jurisdictional and multigeographic
boundaries.
by CNB