How do we achieve balance?

Tucson, Arizona
Published: 04.06.2008

There is a new paradigm in economic development that turns this question upside down.

In the '70s and '80s, corporate-relocation strategy relied mainly on taking advantage of location, cost of doing business and real estate opportunities to move, relocate and expand to a region or metropolitan area. Then, labor and work force would follow.

Beginning in the '90s, with the advent of the Internet, wide use of technology that enables a business to operate efficiently anywhere, a global-based economy and a rapidly aging work force, companies rank the availability of talent and skilled labor as the No.1 driving factor in relocation decisions.

Guess what? That same, now younger, scarce work force looks for ambience, a vibrant downtown, outdoor amenities, quality education opportunities and a reasonable lifestyle in which to live and work. Labor is now in the driver's seat.

This reversal of trends means that conservation and sustainability are actually strengths for economic development — because they matter to skilled talent — and thus critical to the Tucson region's long-term success.

Two previous adversaries — economic growth and preservation/environmentalism — are now two sides of the same coin. Communities need to have it all.

Moving toward fulfilling the principle of sustainability in a community or a region, by the very nature of the definition of the word sustainability, means finding and forging a balance between environment, economic prosperity and social equity.

Every community is different, and may be stronger in one area than the other two. Getting to the appropriate balance that is right for that community can typically only come about if two things occur:

● 1. Engaging citizens, community leaders with experience and political leaders in each of the three components of sustainability, and working collaboratively to find that appropriate balance;

● 2. Community leaders, citizens and political leaders recognizing that they are planning for the future of the community, its current and future residents and businesses. Communities are not static but do indeed change dramatically over time. More here.