Comment 40404

By Kiely (registered) | Posted May 06, 2010 at 10:44:13

I agree Ryan, I also believe you get the people and the businesses follow. This is what Richard Florida talks about (And I see one of your links references him). Attract the "creative class" and innovative businesses will seek you out. Companies aren't bricks and mortar, companies are people and they will go where the type of people they need are.

To make this happen in Hamilton, we need a shift in demographics. Trying to attract innovative businesses with an out-of-date workforce won't work. The cold hard reality is Hamilton's current workforce is not that attractive to the types of businesses that will transform this city. If it takes being a "bedroom community" for a while until our demographics are more attractive to innovative businesses than I believe that is a necessary and ultimately beneficial step in the process.

But changes in demographics and economies often aren't nice things to talk about as they are sensitive topics that create similar questions and debate as neighbourhood gentrification (i.e., Where does the current work force get jobs if they can't compete for the new jobs being created? Will they need to relocate to find work? Do these people with old economy work skills slip between the cracks and into poverty?). To me I believe those are problems I would rather deal with than a city sliding into poverty and decay, but I absolutely understand there are those that will be on the wrong side of that change and for very real reasons do not support my opinion.

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