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Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’
Economy, Energy, Environment Event 9/24
Posted in Economic Development, Green Infrastructure, tagged economy, environment, sustainability on September 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Grand Rapids, West Michigan Gain National Approval
Posted in In the News, tagged GrandRapids, sustainability on May 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The West Michigan region continues to gain positive national media attention. Following closely on a February USA Today story about Holland ranking high in quality of life, Grand Rapids has received two positive national stories this week.
First, a Fortune article touted Grand Rapids as a Michigan success story. The article compared the community’s vibrancy to the news of demolishing neighborhoods in Detroit. It’s an important story, because those who are looking for places to do business may overlook the whole state just because of the negative opinion they gather from the east side currently.
The next day, Grand Rapids was named the most sustainable midsize city in the country by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corp. You can read more about that news on MLive.
While it’s exciting to get good publicity, the importance of this national attention can not be overstated. One of the primary reasons WMSA has been encouraging collaboration is that we are stronger together and can compete better as a region in the new global marketplace. While some of the stories have been specifically about Holland or Grand Rapids, such strokes benefit all of West Michigan. Businesses and families don’t only consider one city when pondering a move–they factor in the entire landscape and all the amenities.
We think a lot of the hard work of community leaders throughout West Michigan is only beginning to pay dividends. We won’t be surprised if there’s more positive attention to come to West Michigan in the months and years ahead.