PublicFutures Blog

I continue to remind readers that the current transformation will take much of this decade. The volume of change required to move entire cultures from their previous, long-term status to a better place is enormous. And, change is a messy process. For some time, progress in the U.S. will come in smaller increments; major leaps forward will be few. This troubles most of us who have grown up experiencing massive change that introduced a cornucopia of opportunity.

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We are not in new territory. But for most of us, we are merely in an unfamiliar place. For those of us who were born after 1945, we have never seen really tough times. We need to learn about ourselves and the Country needs to evolve to a model that fits a new global, hypercompetitive age. These are not necessarily hard times…but they are indeed challenging.
Do we have leaders who understand this new world and its emerging challenges? Will they prepare us for the challenges ahead? And, more critically, will we prepare ourselves for those same challenges? We will not return to ‘normal.’ We must define an entirely new concept of normal and do so before we actually experience hard times.

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The first question is, ‘Do we believe that, as transportation and living costs rise, there will be a steady stream of people congregating in the urban environment?’ And if that is true, do we also calculate that the suburban landscape will transform due to loss of population while the urban environment is being transformed by a huge inflow of people needing housing, entertainment, recreation, services, and safety? Both environments must be considered NOW. Given the converging variables that will impact these environments, both will have serious challenges. Are we prepared?

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Cultural norms are sensitive. Over time people tend to give up or settle for less. Maslow’s hierarchy becomes an alter on which to celebrate survivorship – not the much more critical growth, innovation, enterprise and social vitality. As more people begin to deplete their emotional and financial resources, the social and economic underpinning will begin to erode. What then?

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Declining revenues due to economic woes have had another detrimental effect on state and local government – employee layoffs are at new highs and the depletion of key programs is having a huge impact on service delivery. While there are some who point to government ‘bloat’ as a causative factor in recent and projected layoffs, data suggests that the reduction of government chub began to occur long ago. And, recent cuts have done nothing but eviscerate important capabilities that will again be required as populations grow and demand escalates.

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The good news is that we’ll have enough oil to serve global needs as the economy transforms and we work toward stability. Unfortunately, this respite may cause many to disregard the fact that oil is a finite resource and cannot last forever. Peak oil will have to be recalculated but even a cursory review tells us that consumption is rapidly drawing down reserves. While it may not be the immediate crises reported over the past few years, its long-term significance is huge. Local communities, state agencies, and the federal government must plan for higher costs associated with oil and petroleum by-products, and that covers a lot of territory.

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2010 will see a resurgence of innovation – some subtle, some predictable and some driven by remarkably creative approaches. I am not talking about new inventions. Some of the greatest innovations will come in the form of new methods of providing public services.

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As local communities struggle to balance budgets and seek creative means of growing their economies, it seems wise to assess what attributes these cities have that make them so magnetic. Each has its own idiosyncrasies but there appear to be inherent common themes. Cities that are mobilizing to broaden their economic platforms would do well to determine what magic the listed cities possess.

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Local government is under siege and is struggling to provide basic services while budgets grow less capable of supporting the historic levels required to maintain health, safety, transportation, economic development, and a social network. It is apparent that Wisconsin mayors, city councils and city administrators are grappling with emerging challenges and are aggressively pursuing innovative and collaborative solutions.

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