[Winona Online Democracy]
Title: Shakespeare Festival
Appreciate
reading the comments on Shakespeare Festival.. I , too, salute the
effort. They are true visionaries. I'm off to Midsummer this
evening but have participated the Front Porch series( come tomorrow to
see and hear Eric Booth on "the Everyday Work of Art"
go to www.grsf.org)
Regarding
economic development, I've learned from Mark Hauck on this line of
thinking of catering to the creative class to assure a viable economic
future. Thus Shakespeare Festival represents an
important amenity in attracting and sustaining "creatives"
in Winona. Mark had Richard Florida booked for the Front
Porch series to elaborate on this.. (but unfortunately Florida opted
to take off summer to finish another book) See
linkhttp://www.creativeclass.org/author.shtml
The Chamber is
planning to send a delegation to Ashland , OR to study the city and
how it has faired by the influx of its festival and what it means for
economic development.
The notes
below summarize a regional consultant's (Gary Becker) take on
knowledge workers(the creative class) and relationships to
downtown development. I recently heard him in Owatanna and hope
he comes to deliver the message in Winona.
Downtown's
Role in the New Economy
Speaker: Gary Becker, Vierbicher Associates,
Inc.
Presentation Summary:
Old economy - Characterized by quantity production, machine
centric, and mass manufacturing.
New economy
- In the information era, which is people centric, knowledge is the
key for economic development, and is fueled by innovation and
creativity.
Flatter
companies now operate with less hierarchy. A new class of
"knowledge workers" appears who tend to have more
education, greater mobility, and concentrate in the "knowledge
and creative fields."
These workers are
attracted to better places and especially to vibrant downtown
because of the diversity of space, people, ideas, and the opportunity
for encounters, stimulation, interaction, cross pollination, and
creativity.
Vibrant
downtown is a factor in corporate site selection. Since innovation
requires stimulation, in most communities the vitality of the downtown
area is a reflection of the vitality of the community itself; and
since companies are attracted to communities that have knowledge
workers, a vital downtown will attract such companies.
A vibrant downtown
will promote our community's culture, history, and tacit assets. It
should be both wired and wireless, has "innovation incubators,"
incorporate housing options for a variety of households, and provide
access, sidewalks and bike-trails, that connect residential areas to
the downtown. A healthy mix of architecture, art, music, and multi
service 24/7 businesses.
--
Randy Schenkat 1358 Skyline Dr. Winona, Mn
55987 507-452-7168
_______________________________________________
This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy
All messages must be signed by the senders actual name.
No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list.
To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit
http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona
Any problems or suggestions can be directed to
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at
http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
