18 December 2010

Tale of Two Cities ~ Boston & Cambridge Dance...

D.C. Denison writes in the Globe about Two cities, one goal: Get, keep tech jobs ~ Boston and Cambridge councilors brainstorm...
"Boston and Cambridge city councilors heard a sobering message yesterday: The local economy is losing some of its “world-class assets’’ in areas such as financial services and information technology, as companies in those sectors choose to relocate to regions like Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas and Silicon Valley in California. “The puzzle is: Why are we losing our competitive position in our core clusters?’’ consultant Kurt Dassel asked representatives from both city councils at their first-ever joint hearing, held at the Museum of Science -- which straddles the boundary between the two cities. Organized by Leland Cheung, a first-term member of the Cambridge City Council, and Boston City Council president Michael P. Ross, the two-hour session was held to explore whether the two cities, which often compete for valuable economic projects, can work together for mutual benefit. “My worry is that while we continue to squabble over whether a company will be located at Longwood Medical Area or Kendall Square, other regions are swooping in and wooing companies away," Cheung said before the meeting. “It is my hope that this meeting will contribute to a shared vision for economic growth that will benefit the region as a whole."
Excellent, that's the kind of big-picture thinking we most definitely need in the Boston metroplex. Let's salute both Ross and Cheung!

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