The American Assembly has released a report calling upon elected, business, and civic leaders to double down on innovative and regionally-focused approaches to economic development for Upstate New York’s “legacy cities.” The report summarizes input from over one hundred public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders recently assembled in Syracuse from across New York State to prioritize economic development strategies.

Portions of the event were held at Syracuse University’s Office of Community Engagement and Economic Development in SU’s Warehouse, located in Armory Square.  Attendees had the opportunity to learn about community-based engagement initiatives such as the Connective Corridor and Near Westside – both of which are cited in the preface of the report.

“At an introductory gathering December 11 at The Warehouse—Syracuse University’s downtown center for community engagement that is located on the Connective Corridor, a signature strip of cutting edge cultural development connecting the University Hill with Downtown Syracuse—participants heard about and saw some of the fruits of the SU-led Near West Side Initiative (NWSI). The NWSI is a cross-sector, multifaceted effort driving the revitalization of one of the city’s most impoverished and long neglected inner-city neighborhoods through the arts, technology, and green design initiatives. The session was introduced and moderated by Marilyn Higgins, vice president of economic development and community engagement at SU.”

Read report here.

Lieutenant Governor Duffy, during a keynote address, charged the group at a two-day, working, policy meeting in December to identify key upstate legacy city revitalization priorities for practitioners and policy makers.

The report concludes that regional planning and decision-making, as well as partnerships with major institutional anchors, are two of the most important approaches for implementing innovative economic development strategies. Recent efforts, such as Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils, are praised for taking an integrated approach and crafting economic development strategies at the regional scale, where investments are most likely to a have positive and sustainable impact.

“This report powerfully affirms the centrality of anchor institutions in catalyzing cross-sector collaboration to revitalize legacy cities,” said Syracuse University Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor, who co-chairs the CNY REDC. “Assembly participants highlighted the theme that the challenges we face are inextricably interconnected—not just in Upstate New York, but everywhere—and that we have to roll up our sleeves together to tackle them, which is exactly what New York State’s REDC process is all about.”