It has been almost a year to this date since  I have  blogged.  In that time we have seen an explosion in the so-called social media  arena (who thought it could get any more expansive?) and the field of community economic development is certainly no exception.

I stopped blogging because I felt there were many great blogs relative to economic development dotting the landscape.  For example, Richard Florida's blog at www.creativeclass.com is superb as is CEOS FOR CITIES blog.  Of course the gold standard remains PLANETIZEN at www.planetizen.com.   Then there are the literally dozens of bloggers who cover specialized beats on every topic from transportation to historic preservation.   Moreover, there are some simply amazing blogs that cover a specific geographic area or city.

Frankly, I also stopped blogging because I have more work than I can handle as a community economic development consultant and as a consultant on downtown and neighborhood entrepreneurship.  IMoreover, I have added consulting on retail incubators to my repertoire so time has been scarce. 

However I am back and have found my niche-- I think.  I want to write for the community economic development practitioner.  Of course I will  address one of my favorite topics which is downtown and neighborhood  entrepreneurship--but I do not plan to limit myself to that area alone.  I have another blog that I have allowed to "dehydrate" over the last year--that can be found at www.retailincubation.com .  The topic covered there is painfully obvious.  I plan to revive that very soon.  With the interest in retail incubation increasing, my hope is that blog can begin to serve as a clearinghouse of sorts relative to that topic.

This initial piece will be brief, but it is something that I have been giving some thought to over the last few months.  That is--too many blogs simply are written to showcase the writer or to "parade about" technical knowledge that, frankly,  very few people are interested in.   They are vanity blogs if you will--and believe me, they do not resonate with people engaged in the practice of community economic development.  Yes there are exceptions, I cited a few above and there are others.

However, as I have traveled from one end of this country to the other over the last year I have been startled to learn that few economic development practitioners(or downtown/neighborhood revitalization people) actually read these blogs.   Too many blogs are pedantic and written for the academic or for the person so immersed in economic development or urban planning theory that they have nothing better to do than prattle on about this or that.  Frankly, I think many of these blogggers are frustrated academics who have never actually run an economic development agency or a community development agency(I have).  

There is a thirst for practical information for the person trying to revitalize a neighborhood or bring back a sense of community or save their downtown.   Citing some arcane textbook or some academic article simply does not help those folks.  If you are running a CDC in a tough part of town--the last thing you need is a link to an article on planning theory.  You want practical advice--and that is what I plan to offer.

 I  happen to read those textbooks and arcane articles, but because I harbor that interest doesn't mean most people do.  So over the next few months, you will get practical advice on community economic development.  Best......
Chuck

www.economicvisions.com
www.downtownproject.com
www.retailincubation.com

I have taken a bit of break from this blog because I am firm believer that when others are making cogent points with which one agrees--then it is better to step back, get out-of-the-way and let them make said points.   I particularly have taken to the CEOS FOR CITIES blog(www.ceosforcities.org ) and the blog of renowned "Creative Class" expert Richard Florida(www.creativeclass.com).

Yet I tend to addresss issues from the perspective of an economic development/commercial district revitalization practicioner...which makes sense, given that I actually ran agencies of all stripes before entering the consulting arena.  So, given the number of emails I have received asking me ...<< MORE >>

http://planetizen.com/announce/item.php?id=1724<< MORE >>

I continue to be amazed at what seems to be the sense of impotence that  many downtown and commercial district leaders have with respect to their business mix downtown or in their neighborhood commercial districts.  By the way, there are still plenty of downtowns and commercial districts that would like to have a mix---instead the only mix they have is a mix of plywood types over their windows.

I have a dear friend, who is one of the smartest(and nicest and most ethical)people I know. Yet he complains that he can't attract new business to his small city downtown.   I want to scream--GROW YOUR ...<< MORE >>

I was told by a senior staff member of the Main Street Center at the National Trust for Historic Preservation that when I write about the Main Street Program, people email them copies-- GOOD! So I hope they get this one.  As regular readers of this blog know, I am an economic development maverick--I push the envelope, because for crying out loud not enough people in the field do!   I call them as a I see them and I do so with 25-years plus of economic development experience under my belt.  I was told that writing negatively about them cost me ...<< MORE >>

 I am pleased to announced today the formation of yet another business to serve communites.  THE RETAIL INCUBATION PROJECT will work with communites to develop retail incubators--primarily in downtowns and commercial districts.

THE RETAIL INCUBATION PROJECT is an extension of the The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project and Economic Development Visions, two boutique consulting practices that I currently own and manage.  As with the two existing businesses, we will be dedicated to creativity, innovation, rule-breaking, customer service and an acceptance of the reality that communites have constrained budgets.  

Retail Incubation is catching on nationally, thanks in great part to the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project.  I am ...

<< MORE >>

I do not write about politics on this blog, despite the fact that I live in Washington DC.  I can't throw a rock up my street without hitting a political pundit here, so I try to stick with issues related to community economic revitalization.  However there was an interesting article in this morning's New York TIMES.................  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/us/politics/05clinton.html?ei=5065&en=cb59275b89a1bf6a&ex=1200114000&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print  about Hillary Clinton's recent loss in New Hampshire that does have some applicability to what I have been saying for years about communities.   As I write this we are in that lava-hot political period between the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, so there are countless stories about what the various campaigns on both sides of the aisle did " right or wrong" in the eyes of the political pundits---ah where is Hunter Thompson when we need him?

Anyway, according to the TIMES, Ms. Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, Chairman of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, public relations firms in the country, apparently concentrated too much on polling data (the "numbers" or as we have to call them now, for some reason known only to corporate America: the metrics), and not enough on her personality.  The Clinton campaign according to this piece realized their error too late and the message of 'change" advanced by her opponent Barack Obama trumped the numbers gurus hired by Senator Clinton.   

This is very much what I have been saying about market analyses in downtowns, urban neighborhood commercial districts and communities for years now.  Every community is anxious to have the "numbers" that 
will tell them what type of business they need.   The sad fact is that the big market analysis firms come in, hand off a report with warmed over, updated, census data or  perhaps worse, a community uses one of the off-the-shelf products that gives them the numbers and then the economic development director, the commercial district manager, or the Main Street Manager runs off and tries to find those businesses that "match the numbers."  That does not work folks.  There are more lousy economic analysis studies out there than you can count.  Walk into any planning office and see the old reports lining the shelves--it would   actually be funny if those studies didn't represent a tremendous waste of money.   That is why I like charrettes(I am a certified charrette manager by that National Charrette Institute(http://www.charretteinstitute.org/)  they reveal personality over raw data.

There is an important element missing in too many studies--the PERSONALITY OF THE COMMUNITY--period.  The lesson of the Clinton campaign can be carried over to community revitalization---numbers versus personality.  Interestingly, communities could use some additional numbers in their quest to find their "personality." 

When I do a market analysis I go about doing some limited polling by telephone, I do intercept surveys, I do focus groups and one-on-one interviews with business owners--this gives me a feel for the community beyond just the raw economic data. So a little polling can help you find the personality of your community.  Sure you could argue I am just getting "more numbers"--but I would disagree and say I am going beyond what most firms do.   This information reveals the hot button issues in the community--and begins to tell me the "personality" of the community.    However, I never rely solely on raw market numbers or polling to tell me about a community.  Rather, I add to my knowledge of the community by learning its history, by listening to stories about the "good old days," by talking to people on the back streets--not just the Main Streets.  I listen at community get-togethers and watch public meetings on local cable, I chat with people of all political persuasions and I look at old studies and read local guides to tourism and attractions.   I want--I need--to know the "personality" of the community.  I find the informal channels of communication within a town, city or neighborhood this reveals a great deal to me about the "place" I am trying to define.

In many ways, Richard Florida's groundbreaking work on the creative class that he so eloquently writes about in his books and on his blog(http://www.creativeclass.com ),  is about the personality of community.  I read this week that he now looks at the local music scene as a factor in community analysis.

Sure I get the numbers, and  I get better numbers than anyone I know in the field--but you need much than metrics(ok I used the word) to find the "personality" of  a community.  The "community personality" will tell you just as much about what types of businesses will work as  a report overloaded with statistics, charts and graphs(all impressively laid out using the latest graphic  software).  If you are involved in the revitalization of a community, I implore you to think about the personality of your community, not just the raw numbers.  It is this personality that makes your community unique--savor it.  Best.........

Chuck D'Aprix
Principal
Economic Development Visions &
The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project
Washington, DC
202-248-9715
htttp://www.economicvisions.com
htttp://www.downtownproject.com
http://www.DAPRIXBLOG.com

I am a proponent of employing the latest academic and think tank research, of pushing the envelope with respect to conventional thinking and I openly ebmbrace new ideas and concepts.  The field of economic development was reduced to civic boosterism (not that there is anything wrong with that) for so long that the intellectual energy has been sucked from the field...........

Although I find it a bit trendy to develop new concepts just for the sake of new concepts(read: gazelles, economic gardening etc) when someone like Richard Florida(http:/www.creativeclass.com) does offer an intellectually sound and well-reasoned concept, as he so often does, I am genuinely excited.   I feel the same way when I read New Urbanist publications, although I do not embrace all that is advocated---there can be no denying that Andres Duany is a big thinker--and I like big thinkers.   He is also a big personality and I like big personalities(that is personality--as opposed to celebrity.  Embrace I do not, the community revitalizer as celebrity.)

My commitment to intellectual integrity, new ideas, creativity, innovation and change clearly set forth--my bona fides if you will-- allow me to scream--we complicate this field too damned much.   A case  that is emblematic of this unnecessary complication was made known to me yesterday when I was chatting with a potential client.   His agency had an economic development study  conducted a year or two ago and I inquired as to whether it was posted on line.  He said it was so full of "charts and graphs" that it really made little sense to post it on line.  He told me outright the study actually was unnecessary and that it just confirmed what he and his colleagues already knew.

Look the fact is we conduct too many studies in the field of economic development and commercial district revitalization and perform too little in the way of implementation.  My position should hardly come as a shock to those who know me, I have been saying this for years.   I conduct studies--but only studies that will lead to change and implementation.  I spent too many years toiling in the trenches of economic development in down and out cities not to believe in implementation and transformation.  Study until the cows come home--but eventually you have to pull the trigger and implement!!

Look we hemorrhage money in economic development.  We conduct studies, ad campaigns, offer unnecessary incentives and do not take care of the basics.  That unfortunately does not sound like a "BIG IDEA" --but it is an uncommon one. 

Again I say we need to return to the basics. Yes of course we acknowledge we live in a global economy with a
technological imperative and that emerging technologies are changing our lives daily. Yes, creativity matters--far more than most economic development people will admit.  That said, I return to the old saw, " THINK GLOBALLY--ACT LOCALLY."  Before the next ad campaign, or before you coin the next trendy phrase to describe something we have already been doing for decades and decades--long before I was born(just for the record)--take care of the economic development basics.

Allow me to offer some of those basics as I see them.  First, make sure that you address education.  Without quality public education, you will never have quality local economic development.  If you think education is not an economic development issue you are in the wrong field.  Do not allow the local school department to tell you they have things well in hand, chances are --THEY DON'T!! 

Take care of the businesses you have and help them innovate.  If that means spending your money on innovative management consultants to help drive local innovation--do it--nobody cares about that ad campaign anyway.  Improve every single commercial district in your community and have a  manager for each one.  I do not care which approach you use, but you need to save the historic buildings in the commercial districts, create markets for those districts, create excitement and promotional activities in those areas make sure they are clean, safe and well served by public transit.

Speaking of public transit, make sure you have a quality public transportation system--period.  Take care of housing the less fortunate by rehabilitating existing houses, using infill housing and building new housing, if necessary, ensure that  it is quality housing.   The least fortunate among us deserve it and the community will benefit.

While you are at it, do not forget the neighborhoods--make sure they look god for crying out loud.  Your local Community Development Department should not just be addressing low-income housing, but all housing to make sure that neighborhoods look good.  Moreover, the police need to be employing the latest approaches to ensure the safety of residents in every neighborhood.   If you don't think public safety is an economic  development issue-the just look at the surveys conducted of corporate site selectors and CEOS about location--education and public safety are on that list under QUALITY OF LIFE.

Make sure there is cultural and artistic imperative at work.  I worked on a Cultural Plan in a community back in 1986 as a staffers and it contributed substantially to the economic viability of the community.  It's not fluff, but rather substantive economic development.   Make sure your community has access to higher education--whether it is a community college or a division of a four-year school. This allows people to stay in the community and further their education at the same time.  The residual effects of an institution of higher learning are too numerous to mention here.

Endeavor, if you will, to make your community a CENTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.  Bring together as many regional providers of entrepreneurship support services as you can and reach out to those with creative ideas to help them get businesses started.  This will yield far more than any ad campaign touting your community as the best place to do business.

Work with the real estate community to develop zoning that will encourage quality--QUALITY--new development.  More schlocky town houses may pay property taxes, but in the long run will have a deleterious effect on the community.   You should be thinking about REDEVELOPMENT RATHER THAN NEW DEVELOPMENT whenever possible anyway.   Fix what you have , before you  build new.  While you are at it, make the community walkable and create nodes of development that allow all citizens to be within walking distance of services that matter.  This is ignored by so many communities that it is frightening. 

Finally, (while thinking locally) think regionally.  Nothing quashes  creative economic development programming faster than parochial thinking.  Work with other cities and towns in the region to share ideas, to share resources, to create regional plans and transportation systems.  Reach out if you have to ---but do not stay stuck in your own community--even if that community is a major city.

I have bored you long enough----and this list is hardly exhaustive(although you are probably exhausted at this juncture).   Unfortunately none of what I have suggested today is a grand idea---they are a series of small concepts  that if strung together will have your community walking down the road(make that the sidewalk) to economic viability.

Chuck D'Aprix

http://www.economicvisions.com
http://www.downtownproject.com
http://www.DAPRIXBLOG.com

One community revitalization business I run is called the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project, a business designed to attract, nurture and grow entrepreneurs in downtowns and commercial districts nationally.  I have been studying downtown entrepreneurship for 25 years.  It began when I was first tasked with attracting businesses to a downtown, and I asked the very simple question.......WOULDN'T IT JUST BE EASIER TO GROW NEW RETAILERS THAN CHASE EXISTING ONES?...........................................

My interest has not waned.  I have had the opportunity to run a downtown retail incubator, to travel the country talking to downtown entrepreneurs for a book I am writing, to study the role of  downtown business in community revitalization, and to speak to groups of downtown and commercial district entrepreneurs in formal and informal settings.  Moreover, I have had the opportunity to meet with countless people charged with running downtown and commercial district revitalization programs.  They have expressed their raw frustration with the growing pressure on them to "lure" new businesses(If I could take one word, as I have said so many times before, out of the lexicon of economic development it would be LURE--I would replace it with GROW.)

So the DOWNTOWN ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT http://www.downtownproject.com ,
sister business of my economic development consulting practice Economic Development Visions http://www.economicvisions.com, is a true labor or love for me and 2007 was a great year in which to further expand my examination of the role of entrepreneurship within downtowns and commercial districts. In fact I initiated the largest single study of retail incubators ever undertaken.  That will take a few months to birth and bring to fruition.....but it will be well worth it for the downtown and commercial district revitalization communities.

One trend that has caught my imagination is Baby Boomers not only moving back to downtowns and urban neighborhoods, but the fact they are opening businesses in those places!!  They want to live there of course because of the cultural and social amenities so readily available to them in those environments--and there is indeed a sense of place in a downtown or commercial district that is simply not available in suburban locations.

Many of these Baby Boomers now have empty nests, 401 (K)s or similar retirement programs upon which to draw, they have pent up creativity and they are of a generation that has broken new ground at every turn as I have so frequently written.  They have witnessed societal upheaval and change not to mention astounding technological changes. In fact Boomers expect change and innovation--and have since they were born.

What really drove me to this question of Baby Boomer as entrepreneur or potential entrepreneur in a downtown  or commercial district was when I volunteered to do some pro bono work for an organization that is a "semi think tank."  They said GREAT, as you would expect, but then they handcuffed me a bit. It seems their economist of choice had convinced them that urban entrepreneurs--entrepreneurs close to the city core--were young, hip and peaking at age 34 or 35--I was never quite sure of the age.  They gave me a list of 5 "hot" neighborhoods  from around the country to study---- and then we had a slight philosophical difference.  

You see my heart wanted to agree with them because it would be a nice study to do and they were/are nice folks.  However, my eyes and my intellect were telling me something else.  I was working in too many "hip" communities where it was the Boomers who were making the difference-and without trying to be hip--hell they had seen Woodstock, free love, the Moon Landing, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, experienced the deaths of Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison--had gone through the upheaval brought to us  by Vietnam and racial inequality--and of course saw the deaths of three icons, Jack, Bobby and Martin. Hip? Dylan anyone?  "Hip" does not need to be explained to the Boomer generation(even as they are disciplining their kids for behavior "unbecoming"). They were on the front lines of hip and are open to change--including technological change.   In fact Baby Boomers have a huge rate of web use.

I'll never forget the day I went to the offices of a Gen? consultant who complained that one of his advisors was "Too BOOMER."  This consultant loves to employ phrases that sound hip when they really are just a rehash of old concepts, repackaged to sound hip--for example fast growing entrepreneurial companies are now "gazelles" and entrepreneurship is "economic gardening" and incubators are "crowd sourcing".  Never mind that there are few if ANY academic studies to indicate how what they are espousing is any different than what has been evolving in commercial district revitalization for years now.  Hey it sounds good, it sounds hip and it sounds NEW---gottta have NEW or it ain't any good.   This is all done under the rubric of CREATIVITY.
Richard Florida's books on creativity have been great http://www.creative class.com , and I recommend them highly, but I fear he has been misunderstood, co-opted by some and that "some " just don't get it.  Some of the crowd that thinks entrepreneurship peaks at 34 or 35 or whatever, do so by citing, in part, the works of Dr. Florida--a big mistake in my opinion.  Creativity is not related to age--it is related to mind and consciousness.

I prefer the studies you can find all over the web  and academic datat bases on Baby Boomer creativity and entrepreneurship to anecdotes, however I will serve up an anecdote or two.  have a colleague who is 75, still works in a multi-media store where he sells classical music but interacts with people of all ages throughout his work week.  In his "spare" time he produces and acts in one man shows based on the works of the Ancient Greeks.  He also reads the latest books, does the NY TIMES crossword puzzle in about 10 minutes(in pen!) and is as "Hip" as any 20 something I know.  In fact, he regularly socializes with 20 somethings because they find him a compelling figure.  Go figure.

I recently was doing a market analysis in Brunswick, GA ------------http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/news/326806617962308.php  and met with a number of downtown merchants in their rapidly revitalizing downtown district.  These entrepreneurs were Boomers(plus in some cases) and yes...many were "hip"--very hip.   Brunswick sits in the shadow of 2 resort islands that attract high net worth individuals from around the world--and they are now attracting this clientèle to the downtown--thanks in great part to the Boomer business owners and the active arts community--also BOOMER -heavy.  Heck, the Mayor, a progressive, smart, and knowledgeable guy is also an actor, and has a background in the arts.  Not a bad start down the path to creativity I would say. 

Many of these business owners are second career folks who "get" the dynamic of a commercial district more than many younger entrepreneurs.  That said, there are also great younger, dynamic entrepreneurs in Brunswick--which is the whole point--no?  I hold that a successful commercial district or downtown should have a mix of independent business owners who cut across the demographic spectrum.  That is why I was so turned off by the faulty logic of that "quasi think tank."  First, here is a fact--ENTREPRENEURSHIP does not peak at 34/35 in burgeoning urban districts or small resort towns or small out-of-the-way towns. Period.  I have read too much, spoken to  too  many nationaly-known economists to think otherwise.  Moreover, by giving credence to the mid-30's notion it creates an artificial divide we do not need.  That "quasi think tank" was just wrong--but they can't or won't sacrifice their credibility to say so.  Such is business in the non-profit think tank world I guess.     Need those grants for the next study.

All of that said, what we at the  Downtown Entrepreneurship Project do is, is help downtowns and commercial districts understand their market and then help them attract potential independent business owners who
will complement existing businesses, will complement chains and will make the area more dynamic.   Age and other demographic characteristics do not matter--improving downtowns and commercial districts does!

Best....
Chuck

Chuck D'Aprix
Principal
The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project
& Economic Development Visions
Washington, DC
202-248-9715
http://www.downtownproject.com
http://www.economicvisions.com
http://www.DAPRIXBLOG.com

I am a frequent critic of market analyses.  Somehow, the economic development, ---and in particular the commercial district revitalization worlds--  have become convinced that they need to know everything about their market--current, past, future.   This used to be the domain of the real estate developer who needed to discern what she/he could build, make money on and get financed.  Now every community wants one---- GREAT!  However, most firms do not do them right and in fact present an overpriced, boilerplate product that throws little light into the economic development cave. They give you an updated version they did in town X the day before-- but it is not personalized!!  I will say immodestly that I do them right--period.  Moreover, I have been told as much by countless clients from around the world.  I do something shocking.....I take into account the cultural and human elements of a community.....I don't reduce everything to "metrics." As they say, what a concept..............................................................................

I just got back from the charming community of Brunswick, Georgia a waterfront City about 70 miles from the Florida border(well from Jacksonville).  My firm, Economic Development Visions has been hired to conduct a market analysis for the downtown.  It is a community with lovely architecture, two distinct islands serving different needs(one for island residents, the other more for tourists), and a committed and visionary local leadership.  Moreover, a progressive, professional and creative developer is about to build a mixed-use waterfront project that will include condominiums, a hotel, housing, a marina and some retailing.  This developer, does not want to detract from the downtown retail core, so is partnering with the Downtown Development Authority to determine what the market for retailing is downtown and on his site.   This is a remarkable and very community-based decision on the part of the developer.  Frankly, more developers could take a lesson from this firm and make themselves part of the community on the front-end so that there is a melding of economic and social needs on the back-end.  Kudos to the developers of Liberty Harbor in Brunswick, GA.  Hats off as well to the Downtown Development Authority and its Board for wanting a market study that was all-inclusive, but also takes into account the human, social, financial and political realities of the moment.   Also, the Mayor, a progressive, thoughtful man understands the dynamic perfectly.  This is a community that  in fact "gets it."

The "numbers", or as so many feel impelled to call them now--"the metrics", we can handle easily.  We needed to layer this study--as we at Economic Development Visions do with all of our studies--with an understanding of the community, including: history, culture, local politics, and yes PEOPLE.  The human elements.  We spent the week conducting a great deal of research, but none was more rewarding than the conversations with local residents.  This takes time and often means as much as the "metrics", as we listen to their sage business advice relative to the downtown or just their recitation of local history and how the community has evolved.  Frankly, large firms who send junior people into a community cannot afford the personal touch.  They have high overhead, and  need to move from project to project.

We thrive on the personal touch.  We revel in what makes one community different from the next and we do it  very well--period.  When we finish a market analysis for a community, a downtown or a development project we don't hand over a myopic, metric -laden document--we present a product that realistically pays homage to the community and the future.  Yes, it defines the market and is a superb decision-making tool, but the one we will present to Brunswick GA, will be unique to Brunswick, Georgia---a place, like every other place, that is UNIQUE!

Here is a link from the local paper the Brunswick Times to an article about our project.
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/news/326806617962308.php



Best and Happy Holidays

Chuck D'Aprix
Economic Development Visions &
The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project
Washington, DC
202-248-9715
http://www.economicvisions.com
http://www.downtownproject.com
http://www.DAPRIXBLOG.com