Impressive in Syracuse

Thursday, I spent the day with Marilyn Higgins at Syracuse University seeing the community work inspired (and pushed hard) by Chancellor Nancy Cantor.  Nancy and Marilyn are both smart, can-do leaders who are working to give downtown Syracuse and its Near West Side neighborhood new energy. 

The Connective Corridor is a linear piece of real estate that connects the Near Westside through downtown and the arts district to the (gorgeous) Syracuse U campus.  The university has labeled the district, given it an identity, invited professors and their students to work on projects that will give life to the area.  One of my favorite projects there is the Urban Video Project. 

What was really striking, though, is the patient work the university has been willing to tackle in the Near West Side.  Instead of buying property and inserting university uses there, the university formed an organization run by a community board to guide redevelopment.  After talking with board members at their meeting Thursday afternoon, it appears that the relationships developed in service to the redevelopment of the Near West Side and the methods being used for redevelopment (including a strong dose of listening to residents and involving them on the board and a variety of committee) are setting a new standard for how to get things done in Syracuse.  And yet, there is plenty of edgy project development underway, including $1 homes for artists and a design competition for inexpensive green homes that produced much-needed new thinking on what's possible.

Higgins, a former economic development executive for the regional utility, is clearly a lynchpin to the university's effort.  She insisted on moving her offices off the "hill" where most of the university campus is located and into the heart of the city. Her offices overlook downtown on one side and the Near Westside on the other.  The offices also house COLAB, an interdisciplinary program to promote  collaboration within the university and the community, as well as to inspire out-of-the-box thinking.

Nancy Cantor's driving philosophy of engaged scholarship is evident everywhere in Syracuse.  It is clearly the city's best hope for recovery.

  

Todd Hoffman, April 2, 2009

Carol, I am so glad you spent time in Syracuse and gained a first-hand appreciation for the efforts underway. I've had the chance to witness the ongoing transformation of downtown, which kicked off more than a dozen years ago with Armory Square during a time when most of the locals had given up. Let's hear it for the risk takers. Too early for SU and the city to declare victory, but I often tout the Syracuse story in much larger cities that seemingly have much more to work with. Todd Hoffman Boston resident and summer weekender in nearby Cazenovia

Link: www.collegia.com

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