Regional Community Development News - September 6 & 13, 2006
[regions_work]



A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities
pursuing local and regional development. Published on line since
November 11, 2003.





1. <http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004898.html> Can Los
Angeles Become the US' First Regional City - WorldChanging - USA

Among many in the planning and design professions, there is a morbid
fascination with Los Angeles. It sometimes seems like good news from
Los Angeles is better for its improbability. Some of this is fair,
since from an urban design perspective, Los Angeles didn't get much
right. It is, in Mike Davis' words, a place where "Monolithic public
works have been substituted for regional planning and a responsible
land ethic." In fact, LA's problems are so large, and in some ways, so
iconic (immigration, 'natural' disasters, traffic, sprawl), that
sustainability still seems a distant dream. But Los Angeles has an
asset that doesn't yet know it's an asset: its decentralized urban
form.

Worldchanging readers will be familiar with the ongoing urbanization
of the world. Current rates of urbanization (including in the United
States, where outward growth is often twice the rate of population
growth), have overrun tradition notions of urban space. New York's
metro area, for example, is not a city; it's a vast urbanized area - a
megalopolis. Regional planners like Robert Yaro of RPA and Robert Lang
debate whether the entire area from Boston to DC is one 'megaregion,'
with traditional city centers as islands in an urban sea: the nascent
regional city.

The emerging regional city has been both the cause and effect of two
simultaneous and paradoxical trends in urban life. The first is ideas
and technologies - such as walksheds, car sharing, urban agriculture,
'The New Urbanism,' local energy production, and local currency - for
living more locally. The second is an increasingly large and diverse
geographic region, in which these localities co-exist and overlap.

Worldchanging has done a number of great posts on the regional city,
but I would like to highlight a few key components:

- It has many centers.

- Its systems - transportation, habitat, energy, economy, agriculture
- are integrated across the entire region.

- It is externally monolithic, but internally diverse.

- Ideally, its relationship between development and open space is
fractal (a region within wilderness, centers within greenbelts,
neighborhoods with parks, and buildings with landscapes - preferably
edible).

The regional city is an idea now firmly in the mainstream.
Unfortunately, as Gabriel Metcalf pointed out in an excellent previous
post, the governance structures for regions are still in their
infancy, therefore all megalopolitan regions suffer from
fragmentation. ...

2.
<http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objec
tid=17685518&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=should--super-council--
rule-mersey-region--name_page.html> Should 'super council' rule Mersey
region? - ic Liverpool - Southport, England,UK

MORE than a quarter of a century ago, the biggest shake-up in local
government since the days of Queen Victoria took place in England.

Overnight, hundreds of urban district and rural district councils were
swept away and county boundaries changed.

The new Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley was created, and Southport
and Bootle were joined together in what was seen as a forced marriage.

The new buzz-words are "city regions", and there is a growing
campaign, backed by the Government, for a network of huge metropolitan
authorities.

Locally, a city region would see the five Merseyside boroughs of
Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and St Helens - and possibly
neighbouring Halton - become one huge authority with a population
approaching two million.

Supporters of such a move see a large unit as having the power and the
clout to win national and European funding for major schemes.

....

3.
<http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle
%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190371920&path=%21news%21archi
ve> Region 2000 outlines goals - Lynchburg News and Advance -
Lynchburg, VA,USA

The six co-chairmen of the new Region 2000 Future Focus campaign
expect the new project to run like a business.

The campaign is a collective endeavor of the Region 2000's Economic
Development Council, Technology Council and Center for Advanced
Engineering and Research to assist the region with its economic
development goals.

"We need to grow as well as attract businesses," said Terry Jamerson,
The News & Advance publisher and one of the chairmen. "Now is the time
to fully fund and implement our region's economic development
initiative to seize the opportunity for qualified work force, existing
business support and quality job creation and investment in Region
2000."

The co-chairmen represent some of Central Virginia's biggest
employers.

The chairmen spoke out Friday morning at a news conference about what
their respective companies expected from the five-year, $3.45 million
funding project, and the type of accountability it would have.

"We are going to run this program like a business program," said
George Zippel, president and chief executive officer of Genworth
Financial. "Our progress is not going to be measured in activities.
Our progress is going to be measured through results."

Region 2000 Economic Development Council director Lee Cobb said the
campaign will allow <http://www.region2000.org/> Region 2000 to focus
on different forms of economic development.

The group created a brochure that outlines Region 2000's goals and
objectives. The group has narrowed its focus down to six priority
programs: work force recruitment, supporting existing businesses,
recruiting new businesses, CAER, regional marketing efforts,
communication and metrics.

CAER is a university-based science and engineering research
organization.

Region 2000's new priorities were the result of community assessment
and analysis through 65 one-on-one interviews with local businesses
and public leaders earlier this year.

...



4. <http://www.calpilots.org/html/article.php?sid=1483> Airport
'bottom line' debated - Nevada Appeal - Carson City, NV,USA

As debate roils over the Lake Tahoe Airport, several community leaders
are pushing for a larger discussion of how to use the airport or the
land that it sits on.

With the triple bottom line a hot topic, the Tahoe Daily Tribune spoke
with business and conservation leaders to see how or if the concept
applies to the airport. The triple bottom line posits that good
decisions must have a benefit for the community, environment and the
economy.

Business leaders said the airport is a perfect test case for the
triple bottom line: it could reduce traffic, enhance the economy
through increased tourism dollars, and provide an emergency staging
and evacuation ground in the case of a large fire. They believe no
resort community can thrive without its own airport.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe said the airport fails all three tests,
forcing the community to put up with noise annoyance and a taxpayer
subsidy. The League alleges flying on a plane creates the equivalent
emissions of thousands of miles in a vehicle.

The Sierra Club dismissed the triple bottom line as flawed, but is OK
with general aviation at the airport as long as it meets noise
standards.

John Singlaub, the head of the <http://www.trpa.org/> Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency, which governs development here, has pushed the triple
bottom line to a forum charged with hashing out Tahoe's next regional
plan, called Pathway 2007.
...



5. <http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-766845.html> Officials say
they're better prepared 10 years after Hurricane Fran devastated area
- Durham Herald Sun - Durham, NC,USA

Ten years after Hurricane Fran lashed the Triangle, authorities say
state and local governments are better-prepared to handle a similar
emergency, even if the federal government isn't.

Their experience in dealing with Fran taught officials throughout the
area the importance of making sure police, firefighters and emergency
workers from different jurisdictions can work together in a pinch.

That's meant investing millions of dollars in new radio systems that
can tie into a statewide network run by the Highway Patrol, and
tinkering with operating procedures and training programs to make sure
different agencies go about things in much the same way so there are
fewer surprises when they join forces in the field, said Dee Freeman,
executive director of the <http://www.tjcog.dst.nc.us/> Triangle J
Regional Council of Governments.

While acknowledging improvements are needed in how they work together,
emergency managers now agree that "homeland security and emergency
preparedness should have a regional approach to it, rather than just
state or local," Freeman said.

"This is a policy of the federal government, and the state embraces
that as well. So we're all on the same page, but we're evolving in how
that works and making it as efficient as it can be."

...

6.
<http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/15402238.htm>
Forum tackles brain drain - Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN,USA

Western Wisconsin leaders are trying to develop ways to attract young
professionals to the fast-growing region.

At a conference scheduled for mid-September, organizers will use
regional profiles to identify ways to attract and engage young
professionals in the nine counties that make up the region.

Reversing the brain drain affecting many rural communities plays a big
part in attracting new businesses, organizers say.

"The end result is a plan of action that can be used to make
west-central Wisconsin better positioned in the future," William
Rubin, executive director of the St. Croix Economic Development Corp.,
said of the conference.

...

7.
<http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060907/ED
IT/609070456/1076/Local> Editorial: Program's success is uplifting
news for whole community - Community Press - Florence, KY,USA

Boone County's Success By 6 program has earned recognition for its
efforts to make our children successful in school and in life.

The <http://www.nkadd.org/> Northern Kentucky Area Development
District gave it the Intergovernmental Unity of Effort award, honoring
it as the best example of cooperative success.

Less than three years old, Success By 6 is reaching preschool children
through its mobile unit, a literal "community center on wheels." The
mobile unit supplies parents with information on how to prepare
children for school, and gives children immunizations, healthy eating
tips and dental screenings.

Partnerships with the community have energized Success By 6 since its
inception. ...

8.
<http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/sep/05/kansas_releases_its_plan_re
spond_terrorist_attacks/> Kansas releases its plan to respond to
terrorist attacks and natural disasters - 49abcnews.com - Topeka,
KS,USA

State and local leaders got together to show off their new equipment
and celebrate the release of the 2006 Kansas Response Plan.

It's designed to be used during a terrorist attack or natural disaster
like a tornado, flood or fire.

"We are all vulnerable and need to prepare and be ready," Governor
Kathleen Sebelius said.

In the plan are several changes to the way state and local agencies
are doing business.

The state will now take a regional-approach.

Instead of each individual county preparing for disasters counties
have been separated into seven groups to work together.

...

9.
<http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060830/APC01
01/60830074/1979> Educators must change mindset to understand digital
kids - Appleton Post Crescent - WI, USA

The 1,600 employees at Appleton's welcome-back session Wednesday to
kick off the new school year heard sobering news from the guest
speaker about teaching in a fast changing "digital landscape."

"Right now we're doing a really good job of educating kids for a world
that doesn't exist, and No Child Left Behind exacerbates it," said Ian
Jukes.

Jukes, an author and director of the
<http://ianjukes.com/infosavvy/education/educationmain.html> InfoSavvy
Group of Vancouver, British Columbia, travels the globe speaking on
the implications of global trends, understanding "digital kids" and
the challenge of rethinking what schools should do to meet these
students needs despite the NCLB law and high stakes testing.

...

10. U.S. regional communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in
news articles. Highlighted words are Google search terms. In this and
the following section, links to websites of organizations are added to
the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been
found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in
the U.S. in a news story. In most cases, where a full name is present
a Google search will quickly get one to that organization.



a)
<http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=1news.db&command=v
iewone&id=71&op=t> Triangle Tomorrow sets work plan to address
regional quality-of ...
Carolina Newswire (press release) - NC,USA
Triangle Tomorrow, the regional quality-of-life program of the
Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP), has set a two-year plan
to identify and address issues that affect the Research Triangle
Region's ability to compete globally for economic opportunity. ...

b)
<http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/15449289.htm>
Regional summit will be in Hub City
Aberdeen American News - Aberdeen, SD,USA
A group of local leaders is ready to craft a collaborative plan it
hopes will help reverse area population trends. The work continues
next week in Aberdeen. A regional development summit sponsored ...
Aberdeen Regional Development Committee. ...

c)
<http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/m/FMPro?-db=ma&-lay=a&-format=d.html&id=261
7&-Find> Pitt's Institute of Politics Forms Task Force to Tackle
Region's Water-Management Problems
University of Pittsburgh News (press release) - Pittsburgh, PA,USA
The University of Pittsburgh's Institute of Politics, which
specializes in assisting coordinated responses to regional policy
issues, has formed the Regional Water Management Task Force to address
Southwestern Pennsylvania's pressing water-management challenges....


d)
<http://www.watsekatimesrepublic.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/342news0
4.txt> County commission discusses development plan
Iroquois County Times-Republic - Watseka, L,USA
Iroquois County Regional Planning Commission discussed the creation of
a new county comprehensive development plan ... Aug. 31 ... officials
from the <http://www.tricountyrpc.org/> Tri County Regional Planning
Commission ... talked about what should be pulled together in a
comprehensive plan," ...

e)
<http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/index.php?ntid=97511&ntpid=1>
Plan a good start for regional unit
Wisconsin State Journal - Madison, WI,USA
... Good planning and support will help create a strong regional
organization that can be a forceful and effective champion for growth.
...



f)
<http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17144125&BRD=2288&PAG
=461&dept_id=475590&rfi=6> Hospital plan makes sense for community
MyWestTexas.com - Midland, TX,USA
Midland Memorial, Medical Center and Odessa Regional hospitals have
all joined together in a plan to help meet indigent medical needs
while saving the region millions of dollars. ... approved formation of
a Community Health Organization ... The new regional organization will
be responsible for funding certain indigent needs in the community....




g) <http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/145156> Group seeks
heritage recognition for region
Arizona Daily Star - Tucson, AZ,USA
Here we see traces of ancient Hohokam settlements, Spanish missions
and Mexican and Anglo ranches, and a modern blending of all these
cultures. Some folks think this makes us special, and their efforts to
secure a National Heritage Area designation for the Santa Cruz River
Valley ... ... recognize the unique role this region played ...



h)
<http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.asp?newid=32065&subcategory_id=107
> The Columbus Area Economic Growth Council helps Indiana`s tourism
Travel Daily News International - Athens, Greece
Eight community organizations have joined together to design a new
collaborative partnership that will promote one of the most ambitious
new visions for economic growth in the City's history.... economic
vitality of this community and the region.". ... that each individual
organization cannot realize by ...



i)
<http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17144508&BRD=1380&PAG=461&d
ept_id=157525&rfi=6> Council of Governments Joins EDDI Network
Voices - Woodbury, CT,USA

The Connecticut Economic Resource Center has announced that the
Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley, representing
13 towns in the greater Waterbury region, has joined the Economic
Development Data and Information network, an online searchable
database of economic and demographic information ...



j)
<http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/09/07/opinion/gazette/50
-gazetteopinion.txt> Gazette Opinion: Coordinated force battles Mother
Nature
Billings Gazette - MT, USA
... estimated cost of fighting the Derby fire was nearly $7 million,
with $7.5 million expended on the 21,200-acre Paradise Valley
complex.... So far this year, wildfires have burned 8.4 million acres
... numbers tell why wildfire suppression must be a coordinated,
collaborative effort. Fire knows no boundary between federal, state or
private lands. ...



k) <http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/15445999.htm> Blue
Grass exhibits troubles of many regional airports
Kentucky.com - Lexington KY,USA

It was already a bad year for Blue Grass Airport. ... Nearly one
fifth of the airport's daily scheduled flights have vanished. Then
came the plane crash. Blue Grass Airport, the site of a Comair crash
that killed 49 people Aug. 27, is one of many regional airports
nationwide that are struggling to attract more passengers in the wake
of cost-cutting by financially strapped airlines. ...



l)
<http://www.blackenterprise.com/yb/ybopen.asp?section=ybem&story_id=97
503607&ID=blackenterprise> Business Conditions Slow a Bit in Region
Black Enterprise - New York, NY,USA

... The Mountain States Business Conditions Index, released Friday,
improved to 75.6 from July's 75 and June's 65.4. The monthly report,
prepared by Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., is based on a
combined survey of local supply managers and business leaders in Utah,
Wyoming and Colorado. ...





m)
<http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_244223732.html?
keyword=secondarystory> Funding: Placemats promote tourism
Richmond Register - Richmond, KY,USA
... Thanks to community development funding approved by the Southern
and Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association, local
restaurants and hotels will be displaying placemats this fall with a
variety of tourist details and activities for children, ... a map of
the Southern Interstate 75 corridor, which includes Berea as well as
Jackson, Laurel, Rockcastle and Whitley counties....





n)
<http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/090306/loc_2006090336.shtml>
Trails effort paying off in Oakland
Oakland Press - Pontiac, MI,USA
... make up a permanent endowment to continue educational efforts and
help communities build relationships to better manage and develop
cross-jurisdictional trails ...





o)
<http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060903/NEWS04/609030
342/1002/NEWS> State grant helps region stay prepared
Reno Gazette Journal - Reno, NV,USA
... State homeland security officials approved the grant last week for
Washoe County, putting the region ahead of the rest of the state in
evacuation planning ...





p)
<http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2006/09/03/latest_news/doc44fa6f
8458ea2737424612.txt> Iowa faces labor shortage in next few years
Mason City Globe Gazette - Mason City, IA,USA
... Union leaders say Iowa needs higher-paying jobs, lower taxes and a
higher minimum wage. Business leaders say regionalism is the best
approach to economic growth. But the biggest problem of all smothers
the others, experts say. The labor shortage in Iowa in the next few
years could be astronomical....



q)
<http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=227680&pub=1&div=News>
Health Department governance up for review
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - Tupelo, MS,USA
... Services even though it would take authority away from a
Democratic governor because he believes the board takes politics out
of the governance of agencies.



r) <http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/144703> Yaqui Tribe
donates $30,000 to PAG for videoconferencing
Arizona Daily Star - Tucson, AZ,USA
The Pima Association of Governments received a $30,000 grant from the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe to buy a videoconferencing system for the governing
board's use.



s)
<http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=1stories.db&comman
d=viewone&id=10&op=t> Job Numbers Soar as Regional Partners Push
Forward on Job-Creation ...
Carolina Newswire (press release) - NC,USA

The Research Triangle Region added 40,000 new jobs in the past 12
months as more than 80 regional partners continued their five-year
collaboration to implement the region's job-creation strategy. ...

t) <http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=4200> Lost in
the Ozone
FWWeekly - Fort Worth, TX,USA
... Fort Worth-Dallas metropolitan area is eighth on the association's
list of the worst ozone-polluted cities in the nation. ... "In the
last two years, I've seen many more cases of asthma than ever before
in the summer," he said. "It has to be the pollution." ...

u)
<http://highline.townnews.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/news1.txt>
Regional water system groundbreaking is the product of many coming
together for a single goal
Liberty County Times - Chester, MT,USA
... Two rural water projects: Rocky Boy-North Central Regional Water
System and the Fort Peck Dry ... That is another area where the group
wants to see movement. ...

v)
<http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/news/view.bg?articleid=13046> North
Shore mayors share regional visions
The Daily Item of Lynn - Boston, MA,USA
Cutting municipal costs, shifting toward regionalism and taming labor
unions emerged as prevalent themes Wednesday when the mayors and chief
executives from eight North Shore communities shared their views at
the North Shore Chamber of Commerce's annual State of the Region
Address....

w)
<http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2006/09/07/local_news/4.txt>
Region 10 states case for funding
Montrose Daily Press - Montrose, CO,USA
... "Region 10's programs benefit the region as a ... Gray said the
organization may have posted money in the ... the financial reality at
the county to the community. ...

x)
<http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/09/07/news/doc45009c24cae9e46
1023068.txt> Logan Co. OKs comprehensive plan
Bloomington Pantagraph - IL, USA
... "The land use plan describes the potential uses over time. It's
not a prescription," said Jennifer Sicks, a <http://www.mcplan.org/>
McLean County Regional Planning Commission official who helped Logan
County planners. "It helps tell businesses, 'Here's what's available.'
...

y) <http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060907/NEWS/60907002>
North to South, along the backbone of North America
Summit Daily News - Frisco, CO,USA
... The <http://www.cdtrail.org/page.php?pname=home> Continental
Divide Trail (CDT) was first proposed to Congress in 1966 ... Based
on the CDT 2008 strategic plan, about 70 percent of the CDT is usable
today. ... Completing a completely non-motorized alignment will cost
about $27 million, the strategic plan estimates....



11. Other in the news: Highlighted words are Google search terms.



a) <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212044,00.html>
Reports: Kremlin-Backed Chechen President Proposes Renaming Region
FOX News - USA
MOSCOW - Chechnya's Kremlin-backed president proposed renaming the
war-torn region in southern Russia, saying its current name has a
negative connotation and ...

b)
<http://eursoc.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1081/What_A_Carve_Up%21.html
> What A Carve Up!
EURSOC - UK
Now here's a perfectly European solution for dealing with devolution:
Carve up Britain into regions of an EU superstate. ...
<http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006410088,00.html> based on the
work of a team of cartographers creating what is described as a
"political map of Europe." ... North-East constituency would find
itself part of Europe's "North Sea Region" ... Note: Map at article
link. Ed.

c) <http://www.times.co.nz/cms/news/2006/09/art100013024.php>
Three cities better than one for Auckland region
Times Online - Auckland - New Zealand
THE Auckland region has too many councils and there are strong gains
to be made from efficiencies and amalgamation. A number of councils
... are simply too small to be viable. Regional transport improvements
are too slow. Some councils have chronically under-funded their
infrastructure and services and are now having to play catch-up at
great cost. ...



d) <http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1733393.htm>
Competition policy 'hurting rural communities'
ABC Online - Australia
... "So, I think a lot of confusion exists and a lot of government
packages that are called regional development packages don't seem to
have a clear objective.". ...



e)
<http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/04/europe/EU_GEN_Belgium_Langu
age.php> Belgian premier announces new round of talks on giving
regions ...
International Herald Tribune - France
... he would organize a new round of talks among Belgium's political
parties next year to discuss giving the Dutch-speaking and Francophone
regions more autonomy. ...



f)
<http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=
20229> Are the Dutch losing the 'Euro-vision'?
Expatica - Netherlands
... Casting aside concerns of regionalism, it must be said that the
countries of New Europe are learning to cooperate with each other. ...



g)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/228489
/1/.html> Regional anti-piracy agreement comes into force on Monday
Channel News Asia - Singapore
Singapore will host the inaugural three-day meeting of the Governing
Council of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating piracy and
armed robbery ...



h)
<http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200608/97841eb1-051d-4c11-aec5-d84af
c2997e8.htm> EU seeks greater responsibility in return for development
aid
EUPolitix.com - Brussels, Belgium
Brussels has called for greater responsibility from third country
governments in exchange for increasing EU development funding. ...



i)
<http://www.odin.dep.no/ud/norsk/aktuelt/nyheter/032171-430028/dok-bn.
html> Global Inter-Media Dialogue
Odin - Norway
... The purpose of our gathering is to create a framework for
dialogue. Norway and Indonesia - each with our different backgrounds,
histories and specific interests in these issues - share this
ambition.... These questions apply to all of us: representatives of
the media, representatives of the public, and representatives of
governments. ...



j) <http://www.norden.org/webb/news/news.asp?id=6315&lang=6>
Nordic Region accepts challenges
Nordic Council - Copenhagen, Denmark
Five challenges were put to the Nordic Council ... challenges to
global co-existence have been defined as: * Ensure freedom of
religion, * Empower the powerless, * create public spaces for
co-existence, * Ensure judiciary independence, * Overcome the
'security agenda...



k) <http://allafrica.com/stories/200609030080.html> Southern
Africa: Regional Integration in the Face of Xenophobia
AllAfrica.com - Washington ,USA
... SADC's heads of state and government committed themselves to the
achievement of regional integration through the establishment of a
Free Trade Area by the year 2008 (in two years from now), a regional
Customs Union by 2010 (in four years' time) and a monitory union by
2016 (in 10 years' time)....



l)
<http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A262175>
Paths to success for a 'city region'
Business Day - Johannesburg, South Africa
INCREASED globalisation has highlighted the way in which cities and
regions, rather than countries, compete with each other to attract
job-creating ventures. The "Gauteng global city region" could
invigorate our province's feeble planning and, if it is done
correctly, allow us to take off as a destination for investment. ...



m) <http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/nahimana1> Can
Regional Integration Save Africa?

Project Syndicate
Nowadays southern African countries are committed to reinforcing their
regional integration through economic harmonization. A regional plan
approved in ...



n)
<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2006-09/04/content_680379.htm>
Embrace golden century of peaceful prosperity
China Daily - China
... The relationship between non-alignment and strategic co-operation:
China is pushing for all-round strategic co-operation with friendly
countries without ...

o)
<http://www.eurasianhome.org/xml/t/expert.xml?lang=en&nic=expert&pid=7
77&qmonth=0&qyear=0> Political Research Officer at the Australian High
Commission ...
Eurasian Home Analytical Resource - Moscow, Russia
... Pipelines can also boost regionalism, relegating outmoded, primal
conflicts. This could also be so for the pan-Eurasian energy corridors
and blocs. ...

p) <http://ecoclub.com/news/083/interview.html> The ECOCLUB
Interview with Eugenio Yunis, Head Sustainable Development of Tourism,
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)
EcoClub.com

... Many apportion blame to Tourism - an easy, impersonal target - for
all sorts of evils according to their world view, religion and
ideology. ... EY: Tourism, if properly planned and controlled can
provide comparative advantages in terms of the use of natural
resources. Pristine environment and intact ecosystems are the sole
foundation of any tourism activity, ...

q)
<http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.asp?newid=32125&subcategory_id=107
> ACTE Asia-Pacific regional education conference sets new industry
standards
Travel Daily News International - Athens, Greece

... "Companies looking to do business in the region are finding ACTE`s
Asia-Pacific Regional Education Conference to be an essential step in
working through the unique regional infrastructure," stated Megan
Stowe, Global Sourcing Manager, Intel ...



r)
<http://www.news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=237619> Pilot
Project Gives Youth an Opportunity to Explore Rural Possibilities

Government of Canada Newsroom (press release) - Ottawa, ON, Canada
Young people from across Canada will now have the opportunity to
explore the possibilities of relocating to Nova Scotia to live and
work. A new pilot project entitled Make Way for Youth, aims to match
youth with opportunities in rural areas of Halifax Regional
Municipality ...

s)
<http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=320658&ssid=26&sid=ENV>
China to enhance presence in polar regions
Zee News - Noida, India
China will consolidate its presence in the polar regions and expand
scientific exploration of the arctic and antarctic, a senior official
said here today. "The construction of a third Antarctic exploration
station is the most important strategy," ...

u) <http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/7405> Roadmapping
eGovernment RTD 2020 :: Visions and Conceptions of European
Citizenship
eGov monitor - London, UK
... With the identification and recommendation of eGovernment key
research areas in the next future, eGovRTD2020 shall contribute to the
development of the EU becoming the world leading information society.
...

v)
<http://www.prw.com/homePBP_NADetail_UP.aspx?ID_Site=818&ID_Article=15
134&mode=1&curpage=0> Pioneering study calls for all Ireland
collaboration
Plastics & Rubber Weekly - Croydon, UK
A ground-breaking study of Ireland's cross border plastics sector has
called for the establishment of an all island network to implement the
18 recommendations which it has put forward. The study was
commissioned by Intertrade Ireland, a body set up under the Good
Friday agreement, ...

w) <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/08/31/illinois> The
New State U.
Inside Higher Ed - Washington, DC,USA
...
<http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/reports_retreats/Global_Campus/Global_C
ampus_Final_Report.asp> University of Illinois Global Campus would be
operated as a separate for-profit entity ... learn from a variety of
models out there that are growing rapidly (UMass Online, University of
Maryland University College, and the University of Phoenix), while
also learning from some of the failed attempts of the dot-com boom,
...

x)
<http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=9/1/2006&section_id
=4&newsid=36250&spcl=no> Improved urban governance for green cities
Financial Express.bd - Bangladesh
... Tackling the innumerable problems of urbanisation requires
effective urban governance, which is beset by problems -- such as
fragmentation of responsibility ...

y)
<http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=n
ews_view&newsId=20060905006133&newsLang=en> Practising Law Institute
Creates Inaugural ``Managing Complex Litigation'' Conference
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco, CA,USA
... a forum for a discussion of the most up-to-date intelligence on
proven strategies and tools to manage the multitude of
cross-jurisdictional legal, business and technology issues arising
from complex litigation. ...



12. Sub-State Regions - North Dakota - U.S. Census - Midwest Region;
West North Central Division, FIPS Code 38

Following is a selection of links relating to regional arrangements
in North Dakota. This year each issue features a State with links to
maps of regions and regional related resources. The
<http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf> Census Regions and
Divisions of the United States map (PDF) is being used going, region
by region from the Northeast to the South to the Midwest to the West.



a) <http://www.ugpti.org/pubs/html/dp-160/pg7.php> ND -
Economic Planning Regions



b) <http://www.nd.gov/dcs/community/agencies> ND - Regional
Councils - Dept. Commerce



c) <http://www.nd.gov/humanservices/locations/regionalhsc/> ND
- Regional Human Service Centers



d) <http://www.trainnd.com/> ND - Workforce Training System
Regions



e)
<http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/yf/famsci/he466w.htm%23Regional>
NDSU - Extension Support Network Regional



f)
<http://www.med.und.nodak.edu/depts/rural/rhw/recruit/regions.html> ND
Regional Medical Facilities



g)
<http://www.land.state.nd.us/data/Surface/leaseauctions/minbid.htm>
School Trust Lands - by region Cash Rent



h) <http://www.ag.state.nd.us/images/map80.jpg> ND - Fire
Marshal Regions



i) <http://www.itcnd.org/php/regional_councils.php> ND
-Information Tech Councils - Regions



13. Sub-State Regions - South Dakota - U.S. Census - Midwest Region;
West North Central Division, FIPS Code 46

Following is a selection of links relating to regional arrangements
in South Dakota.



a)
<http://www.sdreadytowork.com/_documents/RegionalRepsMap.pdf> SD
Governor's Office Econ.Devel. Regions



b) <http://www.travelsd.com/regions/index.asp> South Dakota's
Tourism Regions



c) <http://www.sddot.com/div_pe_row_signprog.asp> SDDOT -
Region Offices & Map - Scroll down page.



d) <http://www.healthysd.gov/TweensTeensRegionMap.html> Healthy
South Dakota - Tweens & Teens



e) <http://sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/LocatorMap.htm> SD - State
Parks Locator Map - Regions



f)
<http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO5igrFwpFTW0BKI8AAAAA;_ylu=X3oDMTA1Y2xqd
G9wBHBvcwM4/SIG=11lakd61n/EXP=1158375595/**http%3a/www.bbonline.com/sd
/bbisd/> SD Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers by Region



g) <http://www.state.sd.us/doh/Tobacco/contacts.htm> SD Dept.
of Health - Tobacco Prevention



h) <http://www.sddot.com/fpa/aeronautics/flight_chart_map.asp>
SD DOT Aeronautical Charts/Airports



i)
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/National-atlas-indian-r
eservations-south-dakota.gif> SD - National-atlas-Indian-reservations



14. Announcements and Links



a) <http://www.buzztracker.org/> Buzztracker: World News,
Mapped

Buzztracker is software that visualizes frequencies and relationships
between locations appearing in global news coverage.

Buzztracker tries to show you how interconnected the world is: big
events in one area ripple to other areas across the globe. Connections
between cities thousands of miles apart become apparent at a glance.

b)
<http://reform.house.gov/FC/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=49552>
"2+2 Should Never Equal 3: Getting Intercensal Population Estimates
Right the First Time."

Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Federalism and the
Census

... This is the fifth in a series of hearings on Census Bureau
programs and will examine the Bureau's intercensal population
estimates program.

Intercensal population estimates are vital to the accurate allocation
of hundreds of billions of dollars by elected officials and government
program managers. Unfortunately, intercensal estimates are often
inaccurate. ...

c) <http://www.eera.gov.uk/Text.asp?id=1447&cat=40> EERA
Consortium for Asylum & Refugee Integration - East of England Regional
Assembly

The EERA Consortium for Asylum and Refugee Integration (EERA-CARI) is
the regional enabling body for the co-ordination of services to asylum
seekers in the East of England.

Its role is to provide support, advice and representation to
organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees across the
statutory, voluntary and private sectors.

It also seeks to ensure that the needs of asylum seekers and refugees
are reflected in mainstream policy development and service delivery.



15. Density



a)
<http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=09-05-06&storyID=
25017> Commentary: High Density is Bad for Urban Fabric - Berkeley
Daily Planet - Berkeley, CA,USA

Thank you, Steve Meyers, for your thoughtful response to my
commentaries on the causes, meaning, and benefits of NIMBYism. I'm
glad you found some points worth considering, even if you were put off
by my "over-the-top hyperbole."

I stand firmly by my statement that many in Berkeley "propose an
unpleasant and inhumane urban environment...." Look around, Mr.
Meyers: Is Berkeley becoming more pleasant and humane? Not in my
neighborhood!

One reason is that planners and developers who advocate higher density
and less parking have managed to impose their philosophy upon us. So
why has this not "improved the urban fabric" as intended? Because the
dominant "smart growth" proponents focus on regional goals and not on
local quality of life. And therefore no resources have been devoted to
assessing or improving the human outcomes of development. And some
don't care about the damage they cause others.

But apparently you belong to a more sympathetic group, which believes
that higher density can actually improve urban life. So it might, if
well designed. But the possibility and the reality are two different
things. Although your voices are drowned out by the first group, the
road to our increasingly unpleasant Berkeley environment is also paved
with the good intentions of people like you. But why is this?

First, because most of them apparently have not lived in high-density
neighborhoods long enough to understand their problems. Simply stated,
they advocate something they haven't experienced and don't understand.
But they could fix this by simply moving to such neighborhoods and
living there for several decades like me, or intensively interviewing
those who live in them about their experiences. Then you could
incorporate the reality into the ideal.

...

b)
<http://www.parkslopecourier.com/site/tab7.cfm?newsid=17141261&BRD=238
4&PAG=461&dept_id=552853&rfi=6> Rockefeller Group Urges Brooklyn to
Build to the Sky
Park Slope Courier - Brooklyn, New York, USA
... "I live in Bay Ridge and as far as we're concerned, high-density
development in ... We need density, but we need a rational way of
dealing for that density.". ...



16. Subscription link stories.



a)
<http://www.sddt.com/News/article.cfm?SourceCode=20060831crbf>
Economic development is about community involvement - San Diego Daily
Transcript (subscription) - San Diego, CA,USA

When should economic development strategies be left to policy makers
and when should private businesses and citizens get involved?
According to the Economic Development Corporation of Southwest
California (EDC), strategies to improve community wealth and
employment opportunities should be an equal partnership between both
public and private decision makers.

"Community involvement is needed to tackle local economic and social
issues," said EDC Executive Director Diane Sessions. "Private
corporations have become much more involved in economic development
over the past few decades. One reason for this is the ever-changing
legislation impacting companies financially. Others are social issues
such as environmental impacts, education, workforce development, and
health care."

The primary advantage of a public/private EDC is that private-sector
involvement is greatly expanded, thus gaining the expertise,
knowledge, energy, resources and the "buy-in" of the business
community. The role of the EDC is to ensure that private and public
partners together are given equal stance in determining the region's
economic future. As a professional economic development organization,
the EDC brings together the diverse interests of private companies,
concerned citizens and public agencies to assess and build the
framework for Southwest California's economic health.

...



b)
<http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/edtraffic0831.html
> These numbers leave us unmoved - Atlanta Journal Constitution
(subscription) - GA, USA

It doesn't take an expert to figure out what metro Atlanta commuters
already know: Driving to work isn't getting any faster - or easier.

According to an analysis of U.S. census figures, the Atlanta region
has the fourth longest average commute of metro areas, clocking in at
more than 30 minutes each way. Atlanta area commuters logged the same
amount of time traveling to and from work as their mostly car-bound
peers in San Bernardino in southern California and Chicago.

Only commuters in parts of New Jersey, the Washington area and upstate
New York had longer commutes, according to figures gleaned from the
American Community Survey, a tabulation of demographic trends compiled
by the Census Bureau.

As bad as it is now, congestion is predicted to get considerably worse
in the coming decades as the region adds people, jobs and cars. ...

...
c)
<http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20060905/BLOG024/60905001> What's
wrong with this picture? - Greeley Tribune - Greeley, CO,USA

I've been all excited to write these great things about how northern
Colorado is growing and offering residents more, but I guess I haven't
thought about the people who may actually hate that idea.

...

With all of the new shopping, and all the other amenities, I see no
major reason to go to the Denver area afterward, a thought I adore
since I can no longer deal with psycho drivers, or the big-city sales
taxes.

This regionalization seems to be taking the area by storm, but I
wonder, what do you think are the bad things about becoming bigger? Am
I just looking through rose-colored glasses?



d)
<http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories
/DN-lind_03edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e6aa43.html> Define 'conservative'
- Dallas Morning News (subscription) - TX,USA

The meanings of the terms "conservative" and "liberal" (and its
synonym "progressive") have been altered by two long-term trends in
American politics.

The first is the replacement of ideology by partisanship; the second
is the alignment of partisanship and identity.

In living memory, conservatism and liberalism referred to ideological
movements, not political parties. The conservative movement was not
identical with the Republican Party, nor was the liberal movement
identical with the Democratic Party. This is no longer the case.

Today, conservative means partisan Republican and liberal means
partisan Democrat. Ideological liberals who deviate from the
Democratic party line of a given moment are ignored or vilified, as
are ideological conservatives who deviate from the Republican party
line.

Without ideological movements, there is no place for ideologues. Most
of those who pass for prominent conservative and liberal intellectuals
today are actually engaged in public relations. It is the job of these
apparatchiks to sell a party line to the public, after the party line
has already been determined in private by negotiations among donors,
special-interest spokesmen, pollsters and politicians.

The replacement of ideology by partisanship has been accompanied by
the alignment of partisanship and ethnicity. The major divide between
American politics is not geographic. Maps of how counties vote show
that there are no red states and blue states, only red states and blue
cities. But the city-suburb divide itself is merely a surrogate for an
ethnic and religious divide.

Today the ...



17.
<http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn&q=Regional+Community&ie=UTF-8&aut
h=DQAAAHYAAADKfXPsBBjQLu4SCAu3QXKoawQU7_0mMmID9Khgr3uXld_mxTnLrXO2FMdx
Qnu3EVQDvOkj0HgYoCatKz8X7K1WsLoDpucqsdrwE9zoB-JWNqa4yTkNn2ZhHDvLjd6MN2
Sd7ADIEagB0Z2ixHiqE6pqBSw1HK1pC01keuf0CeSlLA> Google News for
"Regional Community"



Other menu sections available from this link include: Regional
Development; Regional Council; Regional Commission; Regional America;
Regional Asia; Regional Europe; Regional Competition; Regionalism;
Intergovernmental and other search terms. They can be sorted by date
or relevance. These are among the 50 search terms I use to produce
this newsletter.



My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of
intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see
regions." Regional Community Development News is published weekly
based on news reports as of Wednesday. Making visible analysis and
actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think
globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local
scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities.
"Think local planet, act regionally," is my candidate paradigm. (No
one said we're only allowed one paradigm.) We can see that "regional
communities" are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy
in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional
regional community has DNA: it is geographically Defined; has a common
Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and
participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation,
reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to
see the regional communities that already exist. News references are
found using the Google News search service. Media article links are
"fair use" to transform globally scattered reports to make regional
approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with
it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be
seen by new customers. "Regional" is an emerging news category. There
is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use,
though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.

To read and search previous issues go to:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/messages>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/messages The term
"Development" was added to the name in January, 2006.

For a free subscription use this email link - no additional
information required: <mailto:regions_work-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
regions_work-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community
Development News?

Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@...

Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP Making regions visible for Leaders
and Problem-solvers. <http://www.regionalintelligence.com/>
www.regionalintelligence.com or <http://www.regions.ws/>
www.regions.ws



(c) 2003-6 Redistribute freely with attribution.

<http://www.regions.ws/>