Nutter Posits City to Become World-Class

March 19, 2013

Rebecca Savedow

Just a week after Mayor Michael Nutter’s announcement of Philadelphia’s sixth consecutive year of population growth, plans were released by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia to position the city closer to becoming a world class city.

The league’s global positioning strategies (GPS), which encompass education and development, business growth and infrastructure, were presented Tuesday night at the 2013 World Class Summit at WHYY’s Hamilton Public Media Commons.

Thirteen regional business people, educators, policy makers and various other professionals with a vested interest in enhancing Philadelphia’s future convened to present the specific pathways that they have mapped out for the city to a crowd of nearly 300 participants.

“We’re not competitors against each other anymore, we function as a region,” said Mayor Nutter, who made remarks at the start of the program and emphasized the importance of uniting as a city in order to carry out this shared vision.

The plans are part of a larger initiative timeline set by the league to make Philadelphia a versatile place to live and a global destination by the year 2026. The initiatives are contingent upon the ability of professionals to collaboratively produce strategies that offer room for flexibility in a current climate that is both economically and technologically unpredictable.

Executive Director of the Economy League, Steven Wray, stated that aside from the availability of growth capital from seed to venture funding, “having enough experienced and skilled workers is increasingly recognized as a key, if not the most important driver of industry growth.”

Increasing the amount of early, high-quality, childhood education available to the region was one of the strategies discussed. The plans include post secondary education initiatives and workforce training that can transition educated young people into industries through structured ways.

“God forbid anyone would actually find out about us, said Mayor Nutter through laughs from the audience, “that is our great, great fear each and every day — that someone would know that there is a great thing happening in Philadelphia.”

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