Oklahoma!

A couple of days ago I posted a short blurb on Milwaukee that inspired an even better followup comment. Dave (not me)’s comment makes me want to visit Milwaukee and see what’s really there.

As I was reading the Milwaukee report, I stumbled on a link to a very public planning process that is going on in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, OK. AngelouEconomics has set up a website to gather feedback and facilitate their methodology for developing a strategic plan. As a person who has been involved in startups and many web-based organizing efforts, I was immediately struck by the sense that these folks know how to leverage the web and effectively integrate it into a planning process. I don’t know how effective things actually are on the ground in Oklahoma, but it looks like they have a sophisticated, interactive approach to not only educate and inform, but involve the key stakeholders.

This appears to be what is expected in the Tulsa area. The Vision 2025 website provides an interactive framework for tracking various projects and proposals to spur economic development in the region. Can you believe voters approved a tax increase to fund long range planning? More impressively, the approach is not simply to hire consultants to write a plan but to engage the community in an ongoing dialog. This map allow you to explore the many projects in detail.

Broken Arrow is growing fast. And in Tulsa, young entrepreneurs like Micha Alexander appear to be carving out some real “creative class” spaces.

How does it all fit into the creative class economic development “paradigm”? I don’t know. Richard Florida might not be so thrilled to see that webcam of a stadium under construction–but it is just an arena downtown. I’d argue creative cities do need medium-sized venues as part of a core set of art and entertainment magnets–it’s just not a silver bullet. In Tulsa and Broken Arrow, it is clear that a lot of people are working hard on a lot of fronts to build a great future.