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Community colleges emerging in Massachusetts by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Brainpower. Tagged with universities.The new governor in Massachusetts has thrown a bold vision on the table: free tuition for the state's community colleges. The governor wants to create a "cradle to career" education system in his state. Read more.
Interestingly, in a state with such strong universities, the governor and his policy team see community colleges as a critical component of their state's economic future.
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Michigan's University Research Corridor by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with regeneration and universities.Michigan has established a university research corridor, and the presidents of the participating universities are pressing for more research funding from the state. Read more.
Last week, they released the results of a study that compared Michigan's emerging University Research Corridor with North Carolina’s Research Triangle, Boston’s Route 128 Corridor, and Penn State/Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania. You can download a copy of the report here.
Boston's innovation future by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with universities.With a new governor, civic leaders in Boston are busy planning their future as a leading regional innovation economy. Here's some insight into what critical issues are emerging.
Among the concerns: Inadequate numbers of qualified workers. The workforce has been shrinking since 2003. Read more.
An exemplary report on a downtown by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with mainstreet.Many economic analysis reports are dry and without much effort by the analysts to draw practical implications. So, I was please to see this article out of Clovis, NM.
The analyst, Jeffery Mitchell from the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research, does not hesitate to translate his findings into strategic insights.
What's more, the data in his report is well presented and clear. You can read more about the study here. You can download his report here. The Center is completing similar reports for other Main Street programs in New Mexico.
The early days of Research Triangle by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with universities.Research Triangle was a "leap of imagination". Communities and regions can that same kind of leadership now.
Read more about the early days of Research Triangle.
The future of Battle Creek by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with regeneration.With the publication of the most recent Brookings report on older industrial cities, a lot of these older towns are engaged in a deeper exploration of their future.
Youngstown, Kokomo, Akron, Terre Haute, Kalamazoo, Milwaukee, Toledo, Flint. All of these communities are trying to figure out new strategies to build prosperity, new ways to re-imagine their future.
Here's an article out of Battle Creek, Michigan that explores the future for that city. Read more.
Indianapolis downtown by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with regeneration.Indianapolis is a good case history of a major downtown revitalization. It's a state capital, and that helps, of course.
But restoring downtown retail and integrating retail, residential and office with enough green space to make it attractive....now that's an accomplishment.
Like most downtown transformations, it is the miracle that took a generation. Read more.
Maybe it's the end of the school year, but a number of univerisites have been announcing major econoic development moves. Here are some of the stories I have come across:
Research Park Breaks Ground for New Building covers the story of Gateway University Research Park, a partnership between The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University.
New USM Innovation and Commercialization Park to Assist Conversion of Ideas into Products looks at the new park at the University of Southern Mississippi.
UA’s Wright outlines plans for biosciences park outlines the Univeristy of Arizona's plans for ta new biosciences park.
Southern automotive research alliance by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Innovation. Tagged with universities.Seven universities in the South have formed an automotive research alliance. The Alliance puts the Southern states in a better position to attract research and development investment. Read more.
Michigan is also focused on research, product development and advanced automotive manufacturing. Read more. Here's a good overview article on the issue: Read more.
Hometown Competitiveness as a model for rural communities by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Innovation, Quality connected places and Brainpower. Not tagged.Columbus, Nebraska is following a "Come Back, Give Back" economic development strategy. Read more.
The approach is based on a framework of Hometown Competitiveness, developed by the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, the Nebraska Community Foundation and the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. You can learn more from this page.
The Incredible Shrinking City by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Quality connected places. Tagged with regeneration.Youngstown's urban redevelopment plan is attracting a lot of national attention, particularly among older industrial cities. My brother, Hunter, has been at the center of these developments.
Earlier this week, public radio in Cleveland conducted an interesting show on Youngstown and the challenges facing shrinking cities. All across the Midwest, we see this process being played out. Can we imagine new possibilities? Here are some links to investigate.
Download in MP3
View photo gallery
Read more about the Youngstown City Plan
Find out more about one of the Youngstown neighborhood groups crafting their own piece of the city plan
Find our more about the Shrinking Cities exhibit at the Spaces Gallery
Brooking's report, Restoring Prosperity
Branding Greencastle by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Narratives and Networks. Tagged with rural and universities.The folks in Greencastle, IN have produced a clear and understandable analysis of their brand positioning: "The best college town in the Midwest."
Greencastle has done a very good job promoting the process of brand development and making it clear and accessible.
Download "A Marketing & Development Model for Greencastle, Indiana" and see for yourself.
