The Other Bracketology: the Race for #SoMeT12
March 30, 2012 § Leave a Comment
As I write this, Cleveland is less than an hour away from pulling off a comeback win against Kansas City in the first round of the Social Media Tourism Symposium’s (SoMeT12) “March Madness”-style bracket. Being a Clevelander, I am, of course, blindly promoting the city as the venue for this year’s symposium—hence the jabs at those Kansas Citians (yes, that is the correct demonym) on the other side of the Internet. Sorry guys, tough loss.
But Cleveland is not the only Rustbelt city involved in this tournament: Buffalo and St. Louis have already moved on to the second round, while Milwaukee will be taking on Lehigh Valley, PA tomorrow. What does it mean that out of a field of 16 competitors, four of them are Rustbelt cities that will be featured in our second Midwest Sustainable Cities Symposium this September?
Recession Reshapes America
April 17, 2011 § Leave a Comment
In 2009, the Harvard economist Richard Florida wrote a piece for The Atlantic called “How the Crash Will Reshape America.”.” In it, he preaches a brand of economic determinism wherein “creative class” cities stand to recover from the current recession–and Rust Belt and Sun Belt cities don’t.
We foresee–and are dedicated to working towards–different fate.
