We are preparing a list of local or national consulting companies that have had an important role urban strategy / community development successes during the last 5 years (e.g. tough times). in these cities: San Antonio, Chattanooga, Pittsburgh, Charleston, Savannah, Philadelphia, and thoughts about reasons why these locales are progressing well. Any size or type of consultant is of interest. The information is for county level planning alternatives. Thank you!
These Cities started their economic progress a lot longer ago than five years. It has little to do with consultants, though having good consultants is very important to execute the project.
You will find competent consultants in every city with a decent sized population. What you don't find are project champions with clear visions and the ability to put together coalitions to achieve greatness. These champions cannot be the consultants. They must be from the community.
We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes - Fr Gabriel Richard 1805
Seconded.Originally posted by DetroitPlanner
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Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Thirded.
You want to avoid the bad consultants, and there are many of these, in just about any region. But success ultimately has more to do with action than it does with planning. This means pushing (and pulling) by planning and economic development folks, support by administration and the electeds, and investment by businesses and property owners. A good plan steers these market forces, but no plan will amount to much without people willing to invest in the first place.
Anyone want to adopt a dog?
Ditto the above. I can speak only to Chattanooga, but it has a reputation for getting serious about revitalization much longer than 5 years ago, which probably cushioned the blow of the recession. They are known for doing a lot their work in-house, which required the city to beef up the planning department with talent and resources.
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