CONCLUSION		ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Conclusion

Now is the time to forge a broad community consensus to undertake the careful thinking and bold action called for by the Competitive City Agenda. Two years into the creation of a new, unifed local government, it is time to renew the civic dialogue and focus on strategies designed to move Louisville into the top ranks of American cities.

Merger was about more than consolidation of local government. It was about uniting Louisville under one leadership and stepping up its aspirations. It was about “playing to win,” as The Brookings Institution said, in the competition for people, talent, and opportunity.

Beyond Merger: A Competitive Vision for the Regional City of Louisville tapped into that civic energy and rising aspirations. It held up a mirror showing the big picture of Louisville’s position, its assets, strengths, weaknesses, and obstacles to success. It outlined a compelling, comprehensive agenda to move Louisville forward on a new path designed to fulfill the community’s highest ambitions.

Achieving that vision will require sustained focus, and ratcheting up the scope and commitment to a broad set of initiatives. The disciplined approach applied to implementing the regional economic development strategy offers a model for what is needed across every aspect of the Competitive City Agenda: It is on the scale of such long-term, comprehensive approaches that Louisville’s future will be determined.

’‘The citizen leadership we need for the 21st Century requires a lot of people from every sector working very hard together to make our communities better places to live, work, and raise our children,” John Gardner wrote in the introduction to Boundary Crossers, a book about new forms of civic leadership by urban specialists Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson. Boundary crossing for the purpose of community betterment is exactly what Louisville and Jefferson County residents embraced when they voted to erase the outmoded political boundaries that divided them and create Louisville Metro.

The Competitive City Report provides a tool for moving forward to fulfill their aspirations. It establishes benchmarks and documents how Louisville fares when measured against its past and among its peer cities. It draws clear lines, delineating progress in some areas and bringing new insights in others. Its purpose is to galvanize action and to invite community leaders to hold themselves accountable for important change.

The Greater Louisville Project offers the Competitive City Report 2005 as a new touchstone for community progress, a set of key Indicators that can be measured periodically to chart a new course for Louisville.

Links to data and reports cited, as well as additional information, are available at:
www.greaterlouisvilleproject.org