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Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities May 2007 “For the first time in many decades, there is reason to be truly optimistic about the future of America’s older industrial cities,” asserts the Brookings Institution in its new report, Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America’s Older Industrial Cities. Restoring Prosperity in Ohio Greater Ohio is pleased to announce a partnership with the Brookings Institution and a new initiative, Restoring Prosperity to Ohio, focused on revitalizing Ohio’s cities and towns struggling with weak economies. Informed by the new Brookings report’s promising framework, the initiative emphasizes that our Ohio cities are ripe for revitalization and calls for state action to address these challenged areas. Greater Ohio is working with local leaders, state policymakers and other partners to advance the Restoring Prosperity to Ohio initiative and forge an agenda for change. The Brookings Report examined hundreds of cities across the country and found more than 60, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest regions, lagging beyond their peers. (Click here to download the report.) The report focuses beyond Ohio’s large urban areas, specifically identifying nine challenged older Ohio industrial cities -- Canton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Lima, Mansfield, Springfield, Warren, and Youngstown. The Restoring Prosperity to Ohio initiative stresses that our cities possess the right assets -- e.g. educational and medical institutions, historic neighborhoods, natural amenities -- to overcome their challenges, as long as the right state policies are in place. Greater Ohio’s actions will help cities capitalize on their assets and move the state into a new era. Effective state policies and decisions will play a pivotal role in supporting revitalization efforts proposed or already underway in many cities. Greater Ohio: An Agenda For Change On May 29 and May 30 approximately 500 people gathered in Cleveland and Cincinnati respectively to hear Bruce Katz, Vice President of the Brookings Institution and Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program there, present the Report's findings and recommendations that lay the groundwork for the development of a new, state-focused agenda for prosperity. Mr. Katz was also joined by Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, Director of the Ohio Department of Development, during an event at The Cleveland City Club. A variety of panelists in both cities presented responded to the Report’s findings to the overwhelmingly positive reception of local civic, business, and political leaders. The members of each panel are listed below: Cleveland: Cincinnati: In the months to come, with the generous support of the Morgan Family Foundation, Greater Ohio will work with its partners to outline a state action agenda, continue local dialogues, engage stakeholders, and implement the plans needed to return Ohio’s struggling cities to prosperity. As part of a multi-year process, Greater Ohio has conducted initial listening sessions around the state with city leaders to gather input on city strengths and challenges and to hear about local revitalization efforts. Greater Ohio will be developing a detailed next steps implementation plan to be unveiled later this summer. Many cities are already hard at work rebuilding neighborhoods, re-forming their business base, and tying cities to their regions. Greater Ohio will identify state policy directives that help these cities get back on track. Please join with us as we embark on this new initiative. It is your support and input that will greatly facilitate the turnaround of Ohio. For questions and ideas on Restoring Prosperity to Ohio, please contact Lavea Brachman, Director Policy and Research, Greater Ohio. |
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