“Progress comes two ways to cities: in inches or in great leaps. Both are needed, but they follow different paths." We like this article by Otis White because it has some great insights for all tiers of government and those working with them on infrastructure or change projects. Reform should be intentional and ambitious. Often civic projects suffer criticism during planing and construction and it can take a brave government to forge ahead. This is why achieving success in these projects is so important. This article published on www.governing.com gives some great tips on how to achieve this success.
7 Elements of Great Civic Projects- an excerpt:
So what is a great project? It can be anything that signals a new direction: a stylish convention centre, a 21st-century transit system, a signature downtown park, a beautiful riverwalk, an exciting arts centre. One mayor described these things as "man on the moon" projects -- efforts that are bold, visible, a clear break from the past, and undeniably successful. I've studied great projects for years, tracing how they came to be, who supported them and at what point, the obstacles they faced and overcame, and why they ultimately succeeded. And I've noticed some common elements among these otherwise very different undertakings. Here are seven…