fast company photo/illustration by peter funchChicago has been on our minds a lot lately. In the past three years, Partnership staff has taken several trips there to meet with local officials and see how they do things. For example, the Pratt Street redesign was inspired, in part, by Michigan Avenue. And Chicago has a lot to teach us about greening initiatives and how to make the most of public space.
Reading the Fast Company article, I was struck by the similarities between that city and ours. Obviously the scale is different. And Chicago can have an 'aw shucks' midwesterness about it.
But both cities convey a strong sense of place rooted in historic buildings and ethnic neighborhoods. Both have been quietly thriving outside of the attention that's typically paid to more glamorous places like New York or LA. And both are nurturing of creative energy, whether it's applied to entrepreneurialism or art.
The article contains the following quote about Chicago, but I've had people share similar observations with me about Baltimore:
"Sitting in a restaurant, you can hear the buzz of conversation - the discussion of innovative ideas. Driving downtown, you can see the cranes - the creation of an even greater community. It's living, breathing progress."
-Cheryl Rosner, CEO of TicketNow, as quoted in Fast Company
Before you accuse me of being overly generous to charm city, I should point out that it's not just me drinking the kool aid. Others are on to the good stuff that's happening here (check out the Rolling Stone post on Baltimore's scene, for example).
I was just in New York - the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to be exact. It's the epicenter of hipness, but when people found out where I'm from all they wanted to talk about was Baltimore, its scene, how they're thinking of moving here, or they have friends who just have.
So take that, Chicago.
-mike
