The Compounding Challenges in America’s Cities
Most cities lack experienced leadership in change management. This, along with the resounding challenges listed below have compounded due to the pandemic and the overall contentiousness of current times.
Declining population rates due to aging population and inability to attract younger generations, which is usually due to not having a quality of place where people want to live
Shortage of affordable housing, healthcare options, quality education, recreational options, and other lifestyle amenities
Avoided or ineffectively addressed social issues resulting in poverty, homelessness, crime and declining urban neighborhood trends
Lack of tax base generating new revenues for reinvestment
Low morale and waned community spirit due to isolation and lack of active new investments
Industry abandonment and small business closures
Inability to professionally organize and present project plans as required to access outside private and public funding
Need of new thought around flexible policy that attracts new development
Low area median incomes that deter investors due to their inability to finance projects that are not deeply incentivized at the local level to achieve lease/purchase rates needed to meet the constrained budgets of local residents/businesses
Shortage of staff experience to innovate, research and manage visionary, high-demand projects
Missing skills to collaborate across public and private sectors to pool time, people and funding required to plan and execute innovative projects that can meet multiple agendas
While many great challenges are prevalent in most cities, there are advantages that small cities hold over larger cities. These advantages present great opportunities for the future development of small cities if their leadership can organize fast and soon enough.
Lower cost of living
Lower housing and land costs - construction costs have increased everywhere, so where there is land there presents lower-cost opportunities for developers
Younger generations and baby boomers are looking for smaller, quaint, and safe cities that have a great up-and-coming vibe
Local governments should be more flexible and open to listen to creative ideas and policies
Smaller cities are tighter knit where people know each other and can more easily overcome societal tensions if the leadership knows how to 1) assertively unify, 2) facilitate not defending hard positions, 3) doesn’t allow ego to get in the way or avoid conflict for the sake of being liked.
The Solution to Overcoming These Challenges: Leadership
Overcoming these challenges mostly comes down to needing strong, skilled leadership that knows how to build solid, experienced teams. And teams today look different today. Municipal leadership rarely has the experience, staff and financial resources to overcome these challenges. Even if a mayor or members of the city team can inspire change, they will not achieve it on their own. In fact, we find due to the speed which projects need to be executed to gain the critical state, federal and mostly private-sector funding required to implement projects, they are rarely successful under the umbrella of often disjointed municipal leadership.
We have developed collaborative processes that organize multiple private sector entities to approach community development with a business mindset. The plan, proforma, accountability practices, team development, and sustainable structures required to make community change happen can absolutely be designed with the engagement and programmed collaboration of multiple entities, which ultimately minimizes the required investment and risk required by any one partner. While the public sector is part of the team, their role is minimized to the extent that they can provide the capacity and resources needed to lead, fund and execute the project. This makes community transformation palatable and rewarding for all.