Tend to the fundamentals

Whether it’s playing basketball or showing up to your job, you can’t play the game if you ignore the fundamentals.

Many neighborhoods and cities are in the game but ignore the fundamentals of what makes a place thrive. Without new money coming in, communities stagnate and spiral toward decline.

Innovation creates wealth and jobs. The financial health of a place depends on those who sell externally and bring money into their community. When this occurs, the barber, mechanic, chocolate shop, and new car dealer thrives too.

Ecosystem mapping is essential for understanding why neighborhoods and cities stop growing. Underneath the declining birth rates, slow in-migration, and boarded-up windows is an unfocused strategy, closed market, low or no innovation, market takers instead of creators, and negative storytelling.

It is not surprising to know that people, businesses, and relationships are thriving in healthy conditions. The Place development approach empowers places to understand their environment, get good at their fundamentals, and innovate while playing the game.

When we tend to the fundamentals, we end up doing less hunting and stay focused on empowering, transforming, and growing starting with what we have. This level of prosperity and wellbeing for all becomes attractive and leads to greater in-migration, and sustainable growth.