For the length of at least 25 years, experience has taught us that many cities and towns in West Virginia have made "wrong decisions" regarding development and growth. The exclusive strategy in most cities, including my own, Weirton, is the "grow-out-of-our-problem" approach, which goes something like this: 

       "By employing ‘business friendly’ policies, we can 
       expand our economic base through business growth 
       and development and, in turn, enlarge our tax 
       base. Once we have the 'new' tax revenue from this    
       economic expansion, we can turn our focused attention to  
       taking that money and making major investments in such 
       things such as infrastructure, beautification, parks and 
       recreational facilities and other quality of life issues."

       This plan focuses on attracting or recruiting new businesses by being "business friendly", believing the answer to a city’s problems is to "grow-out" of its economic decay. Simply bend-over-backwards to accommodate virtually any business that wants to obtain a business license --- a tactic many believe moves that community one step closer to economic nirvana. Most "grow-out" proponents assert more quality businesses would locate in a city if local officials simply reached out more aggressively with their "business friendly" message.[fn. 2] The trick is just getting the word out, that’s all. Hey, what else is there?

       Once businesses and the community are thriving, bustling from the rewards of this campaign, major (read: costly) revitalization initiatives will follow. Until then, there is no money to address such issues, although low-budget ticket items will still be considered.

       Virtually every candidate running for local office (and once in office, the government official) has incorporated this mantra in one form or another into their pitch for business recruitment, along with advancing an imagined knock-out punch: low crime and low property taxes. Sadly, local government officials, predictably and in almost parrot fashion, singularly champion this strategy, ad nauseam. As Abraham Maslow famously said, "if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."

       Just vigorously brag the place up hither and yon with your business-friendly message, be nice and, by the way, inform prospective businesses your city has low crime and taxes. There it is: the main approach to grow a community in most parts of West Virginia for at least the past quarter century.

       Where to begin?

       We’re simply kidding ourselves if we think "business friendly" tactics are enough to rejuvenate our communities. It is shortsighted to think one can discuss being "business friendly" in isolation as if nothing else exists, or influences it. In today’s world, business opportunities generally do not just happen because one wishes it so.

       It is clear the exclusive use of the "grow-out" approach to revitalize our cities in West Virginia has largely been a failure, leading to wrong policy decisions and attitudes throughout the years. Many cities have lost decades stuck in neutral — at times, reverse – since everything else is on-hold until a city grows its business base. As Henry David Thoreau noted, "some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk." Well, here, the evidence is as strong as discovering a fish drowning in the cream ---- the "grow-out" approach is not working.

       How long do we continue using this same failed formula before changing our approach? At what point do we quit believing that major employers with plenty of good-paying jobs in hand will locate in a distressed city with a substandard appearance? When do we end our unceasing belief that a city’s problems will be solved if we’re merely "business friendly"? How long do we, to paraphrase Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, keep chasing the next "big idea" that somehow might reverse a city’s decline? How long do we allow our Plan B to be nothing more than a continuation of Plan A?

       When does the epiphany occur?

       Initially, we must acknowledge it is shortsighted to solely use the "grow-out" approach since people and businesses have more options, more choices on where to locate. We must fully appreciate that offering a good quality of life for residents will impact and positively affect business opportunities.

       The simple fact is that residents have elevated standards for parks and recreation, safety and service. Likewise, businesses search for cities with a good quality of life since there is more opportunity to attract quality employees, and those employees are less likely to relocate or move to another area (which translates to reduced employee turnover).

       As Clemson University researchers put it: 

       "Economic growth in most cities has traditionally been 
       fostered by the location of new businesses. A highly 
       competitive situation exists between community economic 
       development groups who are competing to attract a smaller 
       number of businesses. Hence, for communities to emerge   
       from the shadows of economic decline, they must develop 
       innovative economic development policies...The opportunity 
       to participate in recreational, social, and cultural 
       opportunities in a community may be critical to the  
       community’s economic development efforts."[fn. 3]

       It’s not a very difficult or complicated doctrine --- the better the quality of life is in a community, the better the chances that more businesses and residents will locate or stay there.

       Of course, long-term community success and vitality is built around business growth and opportunities and, yes, job creation; but, quality of life is also fundamental to the process. Put another way, people must be able to earn a good living, but they also need livable communities.

       What’s a community to do? For openers, a community has to realize that economic development does not occur in a vacuum as if nothing else matters, and that many forces are at play. It is understanding the rules have evolved on how to grow a community’s economy and what makes it attractive to prospective businesses and residents. It is embracing the notion that quality of life issues are not an expense, "but an investment that produces important economic benefits."[fn. 4]

       Meanwhile, a community has to stop "kicking the can down the road" for the more formidable problems to someone else. The devotion by a governing body to expend virtually all of their energy addressing issues — relatively speaking - down the pecking order must end. Most of the low-hanging fruit has already been picked by previous administrations, and the use of a small step ladder will not get you to the higher-up fruit. Those issues which really can make a difference in a community, those more complex, difficult ones, cannot continue to be ignored or put-off to someone else’s day. The hard issues need to be tackled today.

        In order to have any realistic opportunity at attracting residents and bona fide businesses to locate in a community we must offer up more than just low crime and taxes, and the 'business friendly' message. Instead, we must find new and creative approaches to be more appealing for residents and businesses to choose to locate (or stay) in our communities. So, let’s start anew, charting a new direction, a new way, a new strategy. 

"RESIDENT AND BUSINESS FRIENDLY": EQUALLY IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES

        "The only way to oppose a bad idea is to replace it 
        with a good idea." -- Jack Kemp

        We should not discard "business friendly" policies nor subordinate it to other strategies. It must, instead, coexist and share center stage with another equally important principle: being "resident friendly." Although different concepts, each is related and connected with the other, like two sides to the same coin.

        So, as the late Jack Kemp suggests, let’s replace focusing entirely on being "business friendly" (a bad idea) with a more comprehensive, effective and practical strategy ---- to be business and resident friendly (a good idea). In this regard, an appropriate vision statement for each city should be: 

        "The City of __________ should be safe, clean and well-   
        maintained, offering a great quality of life for its 
        residents (resident friendly) as well as providing 
        meaningful opportunities for existing and prospective 
        businesses(business friendly)."

        What does "resident friendly" mean? It means a city where people want to live, the kind of place where they would want to raise their children. It is synonymous with high "quality of life" standards, including having an adequate community "greenfrastructure".[fn. 6]

        It is commonly recognized that the "quality of life" in a community is "defined by the standards that a community sets for itself and the attractiveness of that community against a national standard by which employees seeking to relocate would consider."[fn. 7] There is a general consensus these standards include culture and leisure,[fn. 8] the quality of school systems, transportation networks, quality and affordability of housing, crime rates and "green- frastructure" essentials such as parks and recreation facilities, trails, natural amenities, community gardens, and other types of public open spaces.[fn. 9]

        Cities must recognize the concept that quality of life issues substantially influence businesses choosing where to locate and for individuals choosing a place to live. That is, residents and businesses are attracted to communities with good quality of life standards. In fact, quality of life issues increase the "attractiveness of a job" by 33%, and job seekers overwhelmingly select quality of life issues over salary when determining a job location, particularly those in the skilled and high-tech areas who enjoy outdoor activities and an active lifestyle.[fn. 10]

        As one commentator noted:[fn. 11]

        "While the previous era most valued expansion and  
        economics, today, communities are equally concerned with 
        issues of environment and equity. Local leaders are 
        realizing that as the world "shrinks" with the increased 
        interconnectivity the global economy produces, the 
        definition of what makes a community attractive to both 
        potential businesses and current or prospective residents 
        has changed. Quality of life has risen to prominence, and 
        so the concept of sustainable communities, where economic 
        prosperity, environmental security and social equity are 
        viewed as equal partners, has taken hold."

        In sum, there is a direct, positive correlation between quality of life standards and the attractiveness and desirability of a community for residents and businesses. Communities must acknowledge this unquestionable fact and act accordingly.

        First, a community must be mindful as to how its educational system is viewed from afar since quality schools are vital in our fight. We must refrain from engaging in the mindless echoing, usually fueled by school pride or willful blindness or both, of the "we have a great school system" mentality. We’ve all heard it. The danger with this attitude is believing "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." Instead, there must be an honest, critical assessment of our schools, and nothing less will suffice. Sure, we’re all proud of our schools, but who among us believes that every single school in all 55 counties in this state is "great"? Unfortunately, the mere utterance of this issue strikes a raw nerve that will cause many to go apoplectic. Nevertheless, sooner or later this issue must be addressed --- assuming one can survive the expected mauling.

        Second, it is important for us to be cognizant that the change of seasons unfortunately bequeaths to our area a built-in disadvantage on the quality of life spectrum compared to other areas of the country with pleasant climates, particularly the Carolinas and the State of Florida. Does anyone doubt that flocks of people would continue their journey to the State of Florida to become residents, the absence of a state income tax aside, if it were cold there, or rained almost daily like in parts of Indonesia? Of course, we have no control over the weather and we do, for better or worse, have seasonal weather differences. It is what it is, as we’re fond of saying. The point is, however, we must work that much harder in the struggle to revitalize our communities, becoming more creative and innovative along the way. Perhaps it would be appropriate to take stock in the Chinese  proverb, "it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

        Third, all successful communities possess good visual and aesthetic qualities and characteristics, including being clean. Accordingly, it is critically important for a city to focus on beautification or streetscape projects, particularly in highly visible and well-traveled areas or gateways into a city.