In the modern competition between cities for talent and business our region’s superior advantage could be lifestyle and active living.

Talented individuals can live anywhere in the current global economy.  If we want them here we need to be an attractive place.

Today young professionals and CEOs are drawn to live and raise a family where they can lead active lives and appreciate the outdoors.  They want to do so in their daily lives, not just on weekends.

Building on our strengths of outdoor beauty and recreation by adding superior facilities for livability and public space, and walkable, bikeable business districts and family neighborhoods is the best way for our region to excel as a place to live, work and play.

• “I moved my start-up business there in the first place, for lifestyle reasons“, said Peter Barth, the keynote speaker at the Shasta Economic Development Corporation event.  That was the initial attraction.  And then he and other CEOs and community leaders built a start-up incubator and built jobs to re-vitalize the city of Greenville and the local region.

• In Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time  longtime urban planner Jeff Speck writes:   “The conventional wisdom used to be that creating a strong economy came first, and increased population and a higher quality of life would follow.   The converse now seems more likely:  creating a higher quality of life is the first step to attracting new residents and jobs.”