The connection between business and civic life is a little discussed but intertwined. (Jeremy Derksen wrote a bit about this for Unlimited in “City of Jobs.”) If the urban space was a Venn diagram, the civic, business, philanthropic and academic sectors would overlap. Each applies, to varying degrees, pressure points on city hall.
Now, one sector of that diagram is looking beyond corporate balance statements. A group of civic-minded CEOs in the U.S. started CEOs for Cities in 2001 to look at ways that cultural and financial capital contribute to the vitality of a city. Member include some big names, such as Richard M. Daley, the famed mayor of Chicago.
I first heard about CEOs for Cities from the great New York designer Scott Stowell. (Stowell’s Open created a new design identity for CFC.)
The group does all sorts of geeky things like commission studies such as “The Role of Colleges and Universities in Urban Economic Development.” Policy wonks and urban planning aficionados love this kind of stuff; in laymen’s terms, the point is to find ways that innovation in areas such as environmental stewardship can foster economic growth.
CEOs for Cities also had Portland-based economist Joseph Cortright develop something called City Dividends, which
calculates the monetary gains the top 51 metros could realize if they increase their college attainment by one percentage point (The Talent Dividend), reduce VMT by 1 mile per person per day (The Green Dividend) and reduce the number of people in poverty (The Opportunity Dividend) by one percentage point.
For instance, Portland has boosted its local economy by US$2.6 billion each year simply by having residents drive an average of roughly five kilometres fewer every day.
Even if you don’t live in the U.S., its blog is an interesting read for businesspeople who want ideas to implement in their own concrete jungles.
