Client: Slate Belt Council of Governments
Support: PA Department of Community and Economic Development; The Honorable State Senator Lisa Boscola; John McCullum, Vice President, Ultra-Poly Corp.; Pete Iselo, President, Slate Hills Enterprises; Authority of Bangor; Slate Belt Council of Governments (SB-COG); Victor Rodite, Executive Director of the Slate Belt Council of Governments
The Slate Belt is confronted by numerous internal and external pressures that will inevitably change the way of life for residents of the region. Based upon the shift in the Slate Belt’s industrial profile and continued housing pressures from metropolitan New York and New Jersey, it is clear that this is an opportune time for self assessment and redirection. Our analysis suggests that there are three major factors crucial to attaining successful and what is often referred to as “intelligent” growth in the Slate Belt: active response to change, cooperation, and self-investment. In our report, we present and discuss these fundamental concepts as well as other key objectives, general approaches, and strategies for further improvement of the region. We conclude the report with specific recommendations to achieve the objectives.
Identification of objectives. Based upon interviews with local municipality officers, development organizations, businesses, environmentalists, developers, and residents, we identify five common objectives. The ultimate goal is to stimulate intelligent economic development capable of increasing employment opportunities and tax income while concurrently enhancing livability and preserving community character in the Slate Belt. Below we discuss five fundamental goals that can be considered as intermediate objectives: managing urban and rural growth, stimulating growth of industry and services, preserving open space, promoting livability of downtowns, and attracting tourists.
1. Manage urban and rural residential growth. This objective implies the creation of a balanced and holistic housing plan with a focus on preserving open space and building stronger communities.
2. Cultivate local industry. The second objective is to boost jobs and tax income through the cultivation of local industry and services. Development of the industrial and services sector is also necessary to counter continuous residential growth.
3. Preserve open space. The third objective is to preserve one of the greater assets of the Slate Belt – open space – and to do so in an economically viable and sustainable manner – namely by promoting agricultural and forestry activities.
4. Enhance downtowns. Downtown improvement entails increasing walkability, preserving and celebrating the region’s rich heritage,
and supporting downtowns as centers of community life.
5. Promote tourism. Tourism is a profitable industry in and of itself but also represents a powerful tool to market the Slate Belt while promoting cooperation, self-investment, and pride.
Emphasis of general approaches. The five general approaches that follow are integral to achieving the stated objectives.
a) Build on existing cooperation. First and foremost, cooperation is vital to stimulating progress. We use the concept of cooperation to define a multi-level coordinated effort between municipalities, economic development organizations, local businesses, environmentalists, and residents to shape change collectively in the most beneficial ways.
b) Promote resident participation. Our second approach is to promote resident participation in local affairs. This stimulates residents’ enthusiasm and creates a sense of ownership essential to building a supportive community.
c) Supply appropriate initial infrastructure. Improving road access and providing basic utilities are central to increasing the attractiveness of the Slate Belt to the right kind of investors.
d) Interact with local educational institutions. Our fourth approach is to stimulate further interaction with local educational institutions and to recognize them as a valuable asset – a local employer, client, partner and facilitator of information exchange.
e) Marketing the region. The Slate Belt can launch a marketing campaign to showcase its assets and potential via the internet and other media outlets. Reaching out to a broader audience will attract consumers, tourists, and investors.
Three-tiered recommendations. We provide a list of recommendations for short-, medium- and long-term improvements.
The three-tier structure represents three levels of ease in terms of investment of time and resources needed to implement certain projects. All of the recommendations are worth considering immediately.
I. Short term. In the short term, efforts can be directed towards inexpensive projects that can be readily implemented, such as introducing
uniform and distinct signage, sponsoring a contest to create a slogan to advertise the region, and improving internet presence of local destinations, boroughs, and townships.
II. Medium term. Larger scale projects that entail more resources and complex logistics are the focus in the medium term. Examples of such endeavors include hiring a business liaison to create and maintain a database of available industrial sites and grants, establishing farmers’ markets to encourage local agricultural activities, and preparing existing structures for reuse as business incubators and call centers.
III. Long term. Finally, in the long-term, the Slate Belt could invest in developing industrial sites, redeveloping grey-fields and brown-fields, renovating historic buildings to preserve architecture and character, and in providing appropriate initial conditions for growth. These conditions include infrastructure and a labor force with a skill set geared towards changing market demands.
Students: Laura Bochner’10, Viktorija Gecyte’08, Nigel Martin’10, Priyanka Nair’08, Jason Urton’08
Faculty Facilitators: Dan Bauer and David Stifel