You want some ideas on how to grow the city's population and bring high wage jobs while raising the profile of the city internationally? Attend this conference.
Here's a preview from today's Inquirer:
City deputy commerce director Duane Bumb calls that "learning from best practices" and it's one of his goals in attending the conference.
Bumb will moderate a panel that includes one of the creators of Michigan's "Cool Cities" program and representatives from Toronto and Tampa, both places striving for the "development of creative ecologies," as the conference program says.
Bumb is hoping to learn from them what the role of government should be. Like everyone else, he's heard the old saw that government can best foster innovation by getting out of the way.
"I wonder if that's a cliche," mused Bumb. "What's the government's role. That's an evolving topic."
To Bumb, it's clear that something must be done to head off Philadelphia's possible decline into has-been citydom.
"It used to be that people went to the jobs, but now employers are going to where the highly skilled workers are," he said.
"If you have an attractive environment for these workers, that's where the employer will go."
C'mon, gentlemen, there's still two more days left. Apparently if you call up to volunteer you can go for free! Mmmm mmm, that's good fiscal responsibility.
UPDATE: Neil Kleinman, one of the movers and shakers of this conference, gives this impassioned argument for linking the city's creativity with its potential greatness.