Power is radically shifting from the federal government to cities and counties like Baton Rouge, a metropolitan growth expert told a room of local businesspeople Wednesday at this year’s Statewide Economic Development Summit, hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.
“Metro areas are not governments; they’re networks,” says Bruce Katz, co-author of The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, during his morning keynote address. “This is the level at which all different sectors have the ability to come together and problem-solve.”
To maximize a governing philosophy Katz calls “the new localism,” cities must develop solid growth models, governance structures and financial tools. Baton Rouge can take lessons from three cities that exemplify best practices in each of these aspects, respectively: Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Copenhagen.
Pittsburgh began reinventing itself in the wake of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident once corporations, universities, philanthropies and the local government invested in “centers of excellence” at the neighboring Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh. It created an “Oakland Innovation District” that has since invested in technology, moving Pittsburgh from a “rust belt to a brain belt” by attracting Silicon Valley companies.
Indianapolis, meanwhile, established the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, a network of 16 CEOs that focuses on the commercialization and investment of life sciences, biotechnology and medical devices within the metro area. By keeping 100% of its venture capital local, the partnership has ensured Indiana is the second-largest exporter of biotech products in the U.S., just behind California.
To offset a $750 million budget deficit, Copenhagen in the late ‘90s merged public entities to create an alliance—Copenhagen City & Port Development—to review all the assets owned by the city, manage their regeneration, and use all the revenues from that to fund what’s now the top subway system in the world.
To come out on top, Baton Rouge should ask itself what is its “edge” while identifying its place in the new economy. Then, adds Katz, the city should determine who’s in charge, defining the leaders that make up its network. Lastly, Baton Rouge must find where its power lies by auditing and stress-testing local institutions.
“Name your problem—affordable housing, economic innovation, etc.,” Katz says. “Solutions will be invented locally.”
