I just got back from spending a week in Barcelona. It's a great city, the weather was perfect, and the crowds weren't too bad. A very enjoyable trip all around. As usual, I have a few observations that struck me while there. Urban Culture I used to have a team I supervised in Madrid, so I had been to that city many times, but never made it to Barcelona apart from one brief in and out trip. I was eager to compare and contrast the two. One thing that struck me was an analogy to the Midwest. Spain was once a mighty empire, but became a sort … [Read more...]
Mega-Skepticism
[ This post inaugurates a three part series on "megaregions" and the applicability of this concept to the Midwest. It is a repeat of something I wrote on the subject a bit over a year ago. That should lay the ground work. Part two of the series will be a review of the book "Megaregions", edited by Catherine L. Ross. The third part will be some thinking on ways the Midwest might be able to apply megaregional thinking to its problems. As you will see, I come to this subject as a skeptic. This post originally ran on July 11, 2008] There … [Read more...]
Principles of Privatization – Part 4: Guidelines for Action
I'll conclude my series on privatization with a series of guidelines for action or best practices you should look at to determine if privatization is right. I take a pragmatic view on this. The private sector and government are always going to work together. We just need to make sure we do it right. I had a list of considerations I had developed it, and supplemented it some insights from Indianapolis blogger Paul Ogden. Ogden is a strident populist Republican who used to favor privatization but is now mostly skeptical. Even if you don't go for … [Read more...]
Pro Sports As Naming Rights Deal
"The real question is what these expensive, publicly bankrolled behemoths add to their local economies. The consensus across every, single serious study ever done of the economic impact of sports stadia is 'absolutely nothing." As the old song goes, 'say it again.'" - Richard Florida Over at Columbus Underground they are discussing a report commissioned by the Columbus Blue Jackets NHL team claiming the team and its arena had a $2 billion economic impact in the region. I've no doubt that a lot of money was spent around the team, but if … [Read more...]
Principles of Privatization – Part 3: Uses of Funds
Continuing my look at privatization transactions, this installment focuses on appropriate uses of funds. Some types of privatization involve paying a third party to deliver an outsourced service. If, by outsourcing, you are able to save money and get better service, great. If you are able to realize recurring savings from this, then you can put that money to use in many potential ways: special projects, new services, tax cuts, or making up for cost increases elsewhere. I'm going to focus on non-recurring revenue, the type realized from … [Read more...]
Principles of Privatization – Part 2: Value Levers
Continuing with my series on privatization of government services, today I look at the question of how privatization creates value. You can also read part one on the types of transactions. While a few people just don't like the government doing things on principle, most of the time privatization - again, undertaken by both Democrats and Republicans - is touted has having benefits to the tax payer. There are three basic ways this can happen: new revenues, reduced cost, or improved service. New Revenue Many governments are attracted to … [Read more...]
Principles of Privatization – Part 1: Taxonomy of Transactions
This post kicks off a multi-part series on the principles of privatization. Cities and states across America have been looking at various types of privatization programs to save money or raise money in a tough economy. This has been surprisingly non-partisan, with proponents and opponents scattered across both parties. Democrat Mayor Richard Daley is a huge fan, as is Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in Indiana. Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell pushed a toll road privatization. The Republican administration in the city of Indianapolis is looking at … [Read more...]
The New Economy Counter-Trend, or The Shrinking Amenity Gap
A Chicago icon is in danger as Prairie Avenue Books, a huge architectural specialty bookshop, is on the verge of closing. Among its problems: people are coming in to browse then buying for cheaper on the internet. I've been to Prairie Avenue (which is actually on Wabash Ave.) and it is definitely worth a trip. The atmosphere is more library than bookshop, which I guess is part of the problem. This story powerfully illustrates the force of the changing economy and some of the lesser known effects of the internet and globalization. We hear a … [Read more...]
Indy: Good Economic Development – Internet Marketing Cluster
This is the last in my two-part mini-series on good economic development in Indianapolis. As I said, there's a reason that Indy is the fastest growing large metro area in the Midwest and is one of the best performing economically. It's not all just good luck. This one focuses on Indy's internet marketing cluster. This is a group of nearly 70 companies locally that are focused on the marketing space, totaling over 1,000 employees. This includes companies that are both profitable and rapidly growing such as Exact Target (which recently raised … [Read more...]
Building Suburbs That Last #3 – The Mother of All Impact Fees
I consider the suburban decay facing inner ring suburbs across America, especially those of the 60's and 70's vintage built on a modern suburban pattern, as one of the key challenges facing urban leaders over the coming decades. I outlined a lot of the case in my review of the book "Retrofitting Suburbia". Why is this happening? One big reason cities tend to fall into decline is that they accumulate huge unfunded liabilities, and those liabilities attach to the territory, not the people. This lets one generation of residents rack up huge … [Read more...]
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