Global Cities Louisville-Lexington: Building and Sustaining a Competitive Region

As we emerge from the Great Recession, it is clear that our nation’s economy must be purposefully restructured from one focused inward and characterized by excessive consumption and debt to one that is globally engaged and driven by production and innovation. A growing chorus of leaders is calling for a new growth model, one that creates more and better jobs by engaging rising global demand and attracting global talent and capital. These leaders recognize that only by harnessing the power of cities and metropolitan areas can we hope to foster job growth in the near term and restructure our economy for the long haul.

On Thursday, June 26, the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and JPMorgan Chase hosted a forum, “Global Cities Louisville-Lexington: Building and Sustaining a Competitive Region” focused on this new endeavor. Through the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement (BEAM), the region has already begun to address the opportunities and challenges brought by globalization. BEAM is pursuing strategies to promote the region’s core strength in advanced manufacturing, based on a comprehensive analysis of its assets and limitations. The global future of Louisville-Lexington is supported by its high concentration of manufacturing firms and employment, as well as world-class logistics infrastructure and universities. To preserve and expand on these manufacturing assets, the region must invest more in its human capital, trade, and innovation capacity.

Speakers at the forum highlighted new and enhanced initiatives to promote workforce skills, innovation, and exports; explored how the Louisville-Lexington region rates on its ability to compete globally and tap international markets; and shared innovative practices from other U.S. regions to inform and reinforce local efforts.

For more information, download the press release (PDF).

Presentation by Bruce Katz

Photos

Alan Berube, Augusta Julian, Rena Sharpe, Mark Tomkins

Amy Liu, Neville G. Pinto, Natarajan “Venkat” Venkatakrishnan, Kris W. Kimel, David Graham

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray present Brookings and JPMorgan with 3D locally manufactured keys to the city.

Global Cities Co-Director Bruce Katz