We just got back from a quick trip on the new flight from Bradley to Ireland, and it was a terrific experience, but also instructional. Dublin is a city that, in some ways, would remind people of New Haven, but with more redheads. There are lots of students everywhere, a shortage of rental housing, a big university right in the center, new tech companies starting up, and more restaurants than you could ever believe would be needed (and mostly all full). Plus lots of beer--recently often craft beer. Also like New Haven, there has been little commercial building over the past ten years, while the economy lagged.
What's different about Dublin from New Haven? Well, it's a capital city, with all the economic power that that brings. It has a major airport, with easy, and cheap, access to many parts of the world. It's part of the EEU, and next to Britain, which just voted to leave that organization. It has great public bus transportation with the city and around the country, in addition to rail. It has lots and lots of tourists. And it attracts industry from other countries, including European headquarters of global firms.
Can we learn anything from their experiences? After all, they've had a rough ten years as well, and many types of property have declined in value. It's also much harder to get financing there, and lots of people can't get it. However, if we work on job growth, transportation infrastructure, and attracting new industry, maybe the people (even the redheads) will come.
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Where Are All the Cranes?
I've been in Washington, D.C. and Boston recently, and both are hard to recognize from days past. There are cranes everywhere, and new neighborhoods are springing up, while the old ones are either gentrifying, or just increasing in price. It's amazing to see, in the case of Boston, what a difference 100 miles can make!
Both of those cities have been enjoying boom times, and Boston has been an outlier on the upper end of the growth curve in New England for some time. It has been successful in recruiting biotech companies with high-paying jobs, despite high housing prices, in part because it has reached critical mass in that field. Two-career families can both find employment, and there are lots of research universities around to feed the fire.
Could New Haven become a mini-Boston? In some ways, it already is. Cultural opportunities and the percentage of academics in the population surely rival Boston. Proximity to NYC is important, and we have that. What do we still need? More business and job growth--when Boston, in what's long been called Taxachusetts, seems better from a tax point of view, you know you're in trouble. Better transportation--investment in roads and railroads, plus expansion of Tweed's airline service. And, of course, a more positive reputation--are you listening in Hartford?
Both of those cities have been enjoying boom times, and Boston has been an outlier on the upper end of the growth curve in New England for some time. It has been successful in recruiting biotech companies with high-paying jobs, despite high housing prices, in part because it has reached critical mass in that field. Two-career families can both find employment, and there are lots of research universities around to feed the fire.
Could New Haven become a mini-Boston? In some ways, it already is. Cultural opportunities and the percentage of academics in the population surely rival Boston. Proximity to NYC is important, and we have that. What do we still need? More business and job growth--when Boston, in what's long been called Taxachusetts, seems better from a tax point of view, you know you're in trouble. Better transportation--investment in roads and railroads, plus expansion of Tweed's airline service. And, of course, a more positive reputation--are you listening in Hartford?
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