To the editor:
After attending the jobs forum last Thursday and being impressed with the openness and diversity of those participating, I read with interest Saturday’s J-W editorial, “First steps.” The piece questioned how Lawrence’s perceived “quality of life” strengths might be translated into jobs.
Perhaps we should look at how other communities are making quality of life a central focus of their own economic development plans. One example might be the Lansing, Mich., area that just unveiled a collaborative cultural economic development plan with a goal of becoming “the Midwest’s most welcoming and supportive destination for creative innovators and entrepreneurs.”
As we in Lawrence continue to explore ways to stimulate our economy, let’s try to build on all of our strengths.
Comments
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overthemoon (anonymous) says…
excellent point. we have missed many opportunities (parks, bike routes that lead somewhere, school/community centers, etc) while allowing rampant growth that could be anywhere.
every attempt has been fought off by those who think development for development sake is good and businesses alone can make a town. unfortunately, that is just not the case.
rrussell (Rex Russell) says…
It is critically astounding that Lawrence, with it's great quality of life, highly educated workforce, excellent schools and vibrant community, can't attract professional companies. Even with KU right here, no new Engineering firms. No new Pharmacuetical firms. No high-tech manufacturing firms. No new IT/computer companies. We should have a Research and Devolment mentality and attract those companies. Simply amazing.
BigPrune (anonymous) says…
We have problems in creating jobs because the no-growth people have a stranglehold on our City. Sustainable slow growth is killing this town, yet nobody wants to take responsibility. Our population is decreasing and our jobs are decreasing.
Quality of life isn't cutting it. I've heard about Lawrence's quality of life since I can remember. It's obvious that although quality of life is important, it isn't THAT important. We offer nothing competitive with other cities. We aren't even on the radar. The way the national economy is, we need to get cracking so we have something attractive to offer companies when the economy recovers. We have a few years to get busy.