LLOYD GRAY: Build the community and they will come
Daily Journal
In his book, "The Rise of the Creative Class," author Richard Florida describes what the people driving the new economy want and expect from the places they live and work.
Quality of life is a key ingredient. That means communities that hope to attract this new breed must offer amenities and experiences that satisfy its high expectations.
Circadence Corp., which is headquartered in Boulder, Colo., and announced Friday its decision to locate an office in Tupelo, epitomizes the kind of new-economy, high-tech firm everybody's after. A number of factors entered into the company's decision - including tailor-made programs and assistance from Itawamba Community College and Mississippi State University, and a coordinated, multi-agency recruiting effort - but when founder and CEO Michael Moniz was asked in an interview with the Journal, "Why Tupelo?", quality of life was among the first things he mentioned.
The company wants to be in a healthy, vibrant, attractive and affordable place where its employees can live a well-rounded life in a community they can both enjoy and help shape, Moniz said.
The Tupelo public school system, and particularly Tupelo High School, convinced him that the community was serious about education and willing to invest in it, he said. That sent a dual message: That he could see good employee prospects emerging here and that the employees who were recruited to Tupelo would find the system a positive factor for their families.
What else constitutes quality of life, Moniz was asked. Well - things to do, good restaurants, opportunities for water sports, fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities. He talked of being impressed by the green lushness of the countryside, of the "open space" that abounds in and around Tupelo. And he spoke of a "healthy community" that seems undeterred by factionalism or territorial infighting.
In other words, he verified both Richard Florida's thesis and what community development visionaries have long known: Improve your community – make it an attractive and inviting place – and people will want to live and invest in it.
What Tupelo will get from Circadence within a few years could be a couple of hundred highly educated, highly paid software engineers and others who in their own way will help redefine the community. They will enjoy what is here, but because they are here, others like them will be more likely to come, and the cumulative impact will be felt throughout the community. Tupelo and communities like it are in a new era of economic competition in which the diversity and sophistication of what is offered beyond the workplace is becoming increasingly important. Those that don't respond won't be the places to go in the future.
Tupelo is on the right track in adapting to this trend. Arts organizations and activities, for example, are strong and getting stronger. Shopping variety is increasing. There's a growing emphasis on aesthetics and visual appeal. Downtown is undergoing a revival and transformation with new kinds of shops, residences and, of course, a whole new face in the Fairpark District. Tupelo is near metropolitan areas and university communities which offer cultural opportunities and sporting events, and yet we have those "open spaces" and outdoor amenities that Moniz liked when he was introduced to the area.
Entertainment is a realm of local life where there will need to be greater variety and sophistication in the future to attract the "creative class." Additionally, vigilance to keep older neighborhoods viable and crime-free is essential. Variety of styles and price ranges in new housing must increase.
And in our self-congratulatory mode we must never forget that nothing sells a community to companies like Circadence more than a public school system that reflects a significant monetary investment, top-flight programs and the enrollment of most of the children of all races and social classes in town. Forget that, and we risk everything.
All the things that together make an attractive community can be maintained and enhanced in Tupelo with continued persistence, commitment, creativity and flexibility. They are not the "trimmings" or the afterthoughts of economic development. In this day and time, they are its essence.
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Lloyd Gray is editor of the Daily Journal. Contact him at 678-1579 or lloyd.gray@djournal.com
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/10/2005 8:00:00 AM, section B , page 4
