In The New Localism authors Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak quote Matthew Taylor of the U.K.’s Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce by writing, “it’s necessary for a city to think like a system and act like an entrepreneur. Thinking like a system requires taking a long and broad view of the regional economy.”
Cities cannot just assume that people will move to them, that current businesses will stay, and that a market will pop up on its own to make the city thrive. Cities need to consider all of the elements, from education and workforce development to infrastructure development, that are necessary to create regions where people want to live and work. They need to look at their regional economy and identify the areas (not just a single area) where they can be competitive and have unique advantages from institutional capital like universities to geologic benefits like attractive rivers or easily accessible ports. Cities have to figure out what it is that they can maximize and offer to people, and work with local groups and organizations to rebuild and promote the things that make them so attractive.
Acting like an entrepreneur requires that cities think about innovations and opportunities to invest. This is a challenge for cities because investments with public dollars that go south can be a reason to vote leaders out of office and can draw criticism from local residents who view their tax payer dollars as going to waste. With that in mind, cities, like any entrepreneur, must be able to cultivate multiple streams of funding for the plans they adopt and projects they take on. This requires working with organizations outside the formal city government to co-invest in projects that benefit the entire city. It also requires networking and building support systems with groups that can lead and groups that can provide the necessary assistance to get things done.
When cities adequately assess their economic prospects and develop networks to share risk and coordinate progress, real problem solving and real action can be taken. Cities can help provide the infrastructure and social capital needed for firms to move in and for organizations to feel connected to the places where they are located. This benefits the cities and provides a reason for companies to stay and invest locally by further developing the institutions that make the city an attractive and competitive place.
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