American cities seeking to reinvent themselves can do so by using creative financing, among other tools, according to a panel of experts at the 2016 ULI Spring Meeting in Philadelphia. The panel also served as the launch event for the new ULI publication Reaching for the Future: Creative Finance for Smaller Communities.
Municipalities must first take inventory of their competitive advantages, sincerely want to transform, be willing to take on some risk, and use innovative public/private partnerships, said Thomas Murphy, ULI senior resident fellow and a former mayor of Pittsburgh. “There is always money somewhere; it’s the vision of where you want to go that’s important,” said Murphy. “The conversation must begin with the community making a choice of what it wants to be.”
Image: From left to right: Anastasia Mileham, vice president, marketing and communications, 3CDC; John Callahan, former Mayor of Bethlehem, Pennslyvania; Stephen Navarro, executive vice president at CBRE; and Tom Murphy, former Mayor of Pittsburgh and ULI senior fellow.
