Event Summary
Brookings's Metropolitan Policy Program hosted
The Summit for American Prosperity: Washington and Metropolitan Areas Working Together at the Washington Hilton on
June 11 and 12, 2008.
View agenda » This Summit launched the policy phase of the
Blueprint for American Prosperity: Unleashing the Potential of a Metropolitan Nation, an ambitious, multi-year initiative to build long-term U.S. prosperity by reinvigorating the federal role in promoting the health and vitality of America's metropolitan areas. This Summit builds on the Blueprint's earlier efforts to demonstrate that the nation's assets are concentrated in our metro areas, and are the vital engines of the U.S. and global economy.
Event Highlights:
Blueprint Reports and Policy Briefs:
Among those who addressed the Summit were:
- The Hon. Edward G. Rendell, Governor, Pennsylvania
- Michael Porter, Professor, Harvard Business School
- Henry Cisneros, Chairman, CityView
- Strobe Talbott, President, Brookings
- The Hon. Michael Nutter, Mayor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Michael Mandel, Chief Economist, Business Week
- Hilary Pennington, Director of Special Initiatives, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- The Hon. Ron Sims, County Executive, King County, WA (Seattle)
- The Hon. AC Wharton, Jr., Mayor, Shelby County (Memphis), Tennessee
- Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
- Tom Darden, CEO, Cherokee Investment Partners
- Jonathan Capehart, Editorial Writer, The Washington Post
The next Administration and Congress will confront increasingly complex global and domestic realities, and their improved partnership with local and regional leaders and the private sector will be essential to helping our nation adapt and prosper in this new environment. The Summit was a valuable opportunity to place this important discussion on the national stage and to strengthen our collective efforts to promote reforms.