The Creative Cities Network will convene for its third meeting following our National Meeting.  This post-conference session will be held Nov. 7, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Between two existing paradigms for cities expressed by Tom Friedman’s ‘race-to-the-bottom,’ flat world view versus Richard Florida and Bill Bishop’s spiky world, perhaps a third paradigm emerges in the creative cities world view.

In this ‘Third Way,’ all cities have the inherent potential to succeed in today’s social and economic context by tapping the potential that exists in their assets, connections and people. The key differentiator for cities and their success will depend on how a city unleashes, connects and grows this creative capacity.

This third meeting will build upon the insights of the Network’s conversations to date to generate ideas and strategies for enriching the creative performance of our cities.

CEOs for Cities members interested in joining this conversation can contact Rebecca Eggleston at reggleston@ceosforcities.org or by reserving your spot online by logging onto www.ceosforcities.org/meetings.

Two days after the Presidential election, CEOs for Cities will convene in Chicago for a special one-day meeting to challenge the President-elect and his transition team to establish a new era of cooperation between the Federal government and America's cities. At a national press conference during the Nov. 6 meeting, our network of urban leaders will commit itself to innovative bottom-up initiatives and will ask a fresh-start administration to meet us halfway in a collaborative working relationship to make the best of difficult times.

Representing the nation’s primary source of wealth, employment and global competitiveness, urban leaders will ask for a new attitude from the federal government – an attitude of encouragement and support for nation-building at the grassroots. For its part, CEOs for Cities will roll out at this special session three strategies the organization has derived from years of research into how to grow and to green urban economies.

The three strategies will be detailed at the members-only meeting and later to the press. CEOs' Talent Dividend, Green Dividend, and Core Vitality Dividend show projected urban gross regional product growth – in dollar terms – from progressive improvement in clearly defined areas of human capital development, environmental improvement, and core-city revitalization. This alone makes it a must-attend meeting.

In an era of fiscal constraint at every level of government, CEOs for Cities intends to show two days after election day that its unique membership of city mayors, urban university presidents, business leaders, and city-based philanthropists is a creative problem-solving force that has innovated practical economy-building – and people-building – initiatives worthy of the federal government’s attention and respect.

On Thursday, Nov. 6 we'll convene promptly at 8:30 a.m. with agenda-setting conversations through 3:30 p.m. Plan to join us for a special evening event to kick off the meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. If you can stay an extra day, we have small group meetings on current and future initiatives, including the Creative Cities Network, Friday morning that will wrap up by 1 p.m.

The full agenda will be available in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact Bridget Marquis at bmarquis@ceosforcities.org.

Aly Khalifa, Owner, Gamil Design, Inc. and Co-Founder, Designbox was a panelist at the Urban Next Summit. He provided a clear structure for self-organizing that is used for SPARKcon a creative festival of sorts that integrates the exploration of technology, art, independent business and inclusivity. Could cities and other organizations use similar techniques to stimulate civic action? His presentation can be found below and if you would like be part of the next SPARKcon event it will be held this September in Raleigh, NC.

The Culture of Opportunity session at the Urban Next Summit focused on what it is that makes people perceive a city as a place where they can be successful. Eric Robertson, Chief Administrative Officer, Center City Commission and Co-Founder, New Path started the panel off by laying out the concept from an anthropologic perspective. What can each of us do to instill this culture in our cities?

See Eric's presentation to the Summit below and read the forum he will be kicking off on this subject on MyCity.

Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort, told us that we are no longer Red States and Blue States. We are Red Neighborhoods and Blue Neighborhoods. We are sorting ourselves by beliefs, values and lifestyles. That poses a major challenge for urban leaders, especially those in cities that can succeed with neither a "world is flat" nor a "world is spiky" approach. The first is a race to the bottom. And the second assumes a few dazzling winners and a whole lot of losers. See Bill's presentation to our National Meeting below:

Hear audio from Bill's presentation and panel below:

Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism, told us that real cities "dense, mixed use and transit-served" are the answer to the challenge of global warming, not, as commonly believed, the problem. Contrary to popular wisdom, technological fixes - better light bulbs and hybrid cars - won't win the day. Instead, we need good old-fashioned walkable cities.  See Doug's presentation from our National Meeting below:

Listen to the audio from Doug's presentation and panel below:

Almost three years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is still recovering from a storm that destroyed 80 percent of the city. While many are still struggling, New Orleans has also attracted thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds, who are passionate about rebuilding an American city in a more equitable way. By creating coalitions of talented young people in the private and public sector who work together, New Orleans is engaging urban enthusiasts in the rebuilding process.

While New Orleans has a unique opportunity to build its talent pool, what makes a city a magnet for passionate young people? How can a city engage this talent? And how can a city hold onto these individuals in the future?

We invite you to participate in the Urban Next Summit to help answer these questions. This special opportunity to join the national conversation on cities will take place in a city where young people from diverse backgrounds have been instrumental in the rebuilding process. While exploring a number of city issues together, this gathering will be organized to facilitate meaningful connections between emerging and established leaders.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Hear from and meet a number of distinguished speakers and panelists
• Share and learn about innovative strategies for cities
• Participate in discussion forums to inform others on the work happening in cities
• Connect with emerging and established urban leaders from cities across the nation
• Explore New Orleans as an insider

Topics will include:

• Attraction and retention of talent
• Creating a culture of opportunity
• Advocacy for urban enthusiasts
• Idea generation surrounding current urban challenges and opportunities
• Messaging for cities
• Connecting innovators to our cities

Apply to be part of the Urban Next Summit by clicking here. Applications are due by June 15, 2008. View the draft agenda here.

If you have any questions please contact Bridget Marquis at bmarquis@ceosforcities.org.

In conjunction with our National Meeting in Pittsburgh, we will convene the Kids in Cities Learning Network. From noon to 1:30 p.m. on May 14, we’ll meet to discuss ways for cities, institutions and developers to work together to help cities respond to the growing market of parents who are choosing to raise families in the city. We will share insights from the Charm Bracelet project, a Pittsburgh revitalization effort with a family focus.

The conversation will be structured around this set of questions:

1. Is the value proposition for attracting and retaining urban families clear for cities, institutions and developers?
2. What capabilities can be leveraged toward success on behalf of cities, institutions and developers?
3. What are the primary barriers faced by cities, institutions and developers when approaching family focused initiatives?
4. How can cities, institutions and developers work together in a mutually beneficial way that results in success across three key areas of safety, space and schools?

Based on insights from this meeting, we will generate a project toolkit to compliment the Kids in Cities concept paper.

Interested in attending? Email Kristian Buschmann at kbuschmann@ceosforcities.org. Space is limited and must be reserved in advance of the meeting.

The CEOs for Cities Creative City project will kick off at our national meeting Tuesday night. We’ll be exploring how cities can best facilitate the resources needed for the knowledge economy – ideas, connections and innovation. Our panelists will discuss the power of creativity to make possible self-organizing, self-generating means of exchange among citizens. Join Ben Self, Founding Partner of Blue State Digital, Johann Zietsman, Director of Mesa Arts & Culture Department and Mesa Arts Center and Joyce Bromberg, Director of Research at Steelcase for this conversation on May 13 and hear their insights. See details and the full Creative Cities agenda here.

Mark your calendar for March 11 at 11 a.m. CST for the kick-off call for our new Creative Cities Network.

Since the publication of Charles Landry’s “The Creative City,” urban leaders have been grappling with the notion of creative communities, what they are, their benefits and how to foster them. To date, efforts have been scattered and uncoordinated, with few solid answers on how to build a truly creative city.

To address this, CEOs For Cities is developing a Creative Cities Network composed of urban leaders representing 4-6 of the top 50 U.S. metro areas who will use existing research to develop a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities associated with creative city concepts and develop and apply strategies to amplify these opportunities in their communities.

To jump start this effort, we invite you to participate in a network call that will lay out the rationale behind the developing Creative Cities Network, the anticipated deliverables and to discuss options for participation. Following the short presentation, we’ll take questions and share information on the first convening of network participants.

If you want to participate on the call, please email Sheila Redick at sredick@ceosforcities.org to receive the call-in information.

We’ll circulate an agenda and brief presentation to those who RSVP.

Please note: This call is for CEOs for Cities members only.

Have questions about the Creative City Network? Email Rebecca Eggleston at reggleston@ceosforcities.org.