Mayoral Momentum

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A primary tenet of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City's (ICIC) philosophy is that the private sector must play a major role in the revitalization of depressed urban areas if that revitalization is to be widespread and sustainable. But the private sector cannot do it alone. The public sector must create the type of business environment in which new companies can set down routes and mature companies can access the resources they need to grow. This means reducing crime, maintaining infrastructure, and providing entrepreneurs with clear pathways to land, capital, and work-ready employees.

Mayors, of course, are public-sector leaders, but not all mayors set inner-city business development as a high priority. Those who do make a huge difference. One indicator of their effectiveness is the number of companies from their cities that make it onto the Inner City 100 (IC 100) list. It is not a coincidence that mayors who actively promote inner-city business development preside over the cities with the most companies on the list.

Pittsburgh

Tom Murphy is in his third term as mayor of Pittsburgh, building on his substantial record of promoting business development in this former industrial city. He knows that all businesses require tools that will allow them to survive and prosper in a very competitive environment. Start-up and expanding businesses often need assistance in structuring a business plan, determining effective management options, and obtaining the necessary financial skills in order to be successful. Mayor Murphy has made these tools readily available. The steel mills are gone and in their place are new industries and manufacturing firms, distribution centers, cutting-edge technology companies, trails, parks, restaurants, and affordable housing. Pittsburgh, under Mayor Murphy's leadership, places high value on communities. Pittsburgh's 88 neighborhoods offer an efficient system for people to live and provide for their families: small lots, a mix of housing and commercial services, and streets and sidewalks designed to place people above cars. Pittsburgh was the top-producing city, placing seven companies on the 2003 IC 100 list.

Boston

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino set the tone for inner-city economic revitalization by bringing the Main Streets program to virtually every neighborhood retail district in the city. It was the first time the Main Streets program, which includes step-by-step guidelines for restoring vibrancy to retail districts, was applied citywide. The results were immediately visible: storefronts were painted, streets were repaired, streetlights were installed, and once again customers crowded the sidewalks. Mayor Menino followed the Main Streets program with the innovative Back Streets program, which supports the thousands of small and mid-size light-industrial and commercial companies that operate in Boston. Individually, these companies employ, on average, fewer than 20 workers. But collectively, they provide 100,000 jobs, one out of every five jobs in the city. For a variety of structural reasons (e.g., lack of space, gentrification), these companies were being forced out of town. The Back Streets program is expressly designed to halt and reverse that trend.

It's not surprising that Boston has six companies on the IC 100 list, enough to put the city in second place. Mayor Menino has established the conditions for strong business growth.

Denver

Mayor Wellington Webb is the first African-American elected mayor of Denver, a city where only 8 percent of its population is African-American. Race is not a factor in Mayor Webb's popularity; results are. He calls himself the CEO, and he runs Denver as if it were "a private business with a public mission." His strategic business plan has three major initiatives: promoting the city's competitive assets; investing in working families, and promoting Smart Growth through regional cooperation. Under his leadership, Denver has seen a significant reduction in unemployment, a growth in the high-tech and telecommunications sector and expansion of commercial space. Entrepreneur magazine rated Denver the Top City for Entrepreneurs and Ebony magazine described Mayor Webb as one of the 100 most influential African-Americans in the nation. This year, ICIC presented him with the 2003 Mayoral Leadership Award.

Four companies from Denver made the 2003 Inner City 100 list, which placed the city in a tie for third with New York City, Hartford, and Rochester.

New York City

Mayor Michael Bloomberg knows well the power of capitalism, and he understands that his high-energy metropolis is the symbolic center of world capitalism. But New York City is more than Wall Street, and Mayor Bloomberg is determined to see that capitalism, in the form of business formations, reaches into inner-city neighborhoods. His commercial revitalization program is designed to improve commercial strips by stimulating private investment, reducing vacancies, improving the commercial environment, and increasing profits for local businesses. Working through locally based community or business organizations the Commercial Revitalization program "Assesses the needs and strengths of a commercial street and develops a strategy to improve the area." It provides financial assistance to improve storefronts and facades including gates, lighting and security systems. It helps improve public space with plantings, lighting, street furniture, and other amenities. It assists with graffiti removal and other neighborhood beautification projects. And, it markets and promotes the area with special signage, logos, outreach to investors, special events, newsletters, and other promotional activities.

Four New York City companies are on the 2003 IC 100 list, moving the city in a third-place tie.

Rochester, NY

Mayor William Johnson Jr. has instituted a free Business Opportunity seminar series, which teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to run a business, how to buy a business, where to go for financing help, and how to keep a business growing. In 2000, Partners for Livable Communities selected Rochester along with three other communities as America's most livable city. Rochester was credited for adapting to racial and economic changes by joining forces with neighborhood groups. Its Neighborhoods Building Neighborhoods (NBN) process was called an effective urban strategy that engaged its citizens to participate in economic revitalization activities. NBN offers regular workshops on strategies for building neighborhood economies.

Rochester tied for third place with four companies on the IC 100 list.

Hartford

Mayor Eddie Perez, the first Puerto Rican elected head of a major U.S. city, says Hartford, "boasts a highly diverse population, an extremely committed business community, and a pro-growth government pursuing an agenda of progress." Upon entering office last year, Mayor Perez successfully lobbied to change the form of government from one dominated by a city council with a figure-head mayor to a strong mayoral system. Later he sent out a survey to every city neighborhood asking residents to identify their greatest need and biggest problem. With the city facing a huge reduction in state financial aid, Mayor Perez stepped forward with a plan that maintains the business infrastructure and avoids major lay-offs.

Hartford has four companies on the IC 100 list, placing it in a tie for third with New York City, Denver, and Rochester.

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