Report on Road to Renaissance Showcases Areas of Success and Leadership
DETROIT, Mich., December 12, 2011 — Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, issued the last in a series of progress reports on the Road to Renaissance, a pioneering, comprehensive movement geared at engineering economic growth and development in the Detroit region.
First launched in 2006, the Road to Renaissance initiative used input from hundreds of civic and business leaders to devise a strategy for accelerating regional economic growth.
“This effort has had stunning levels of involvement, complexity and reach,” said Doug Rothwell President & CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “More than $100 million was raised to support the activities of Road to Renaissance, and countless hours, people and significant amounts of energy were dedicated to growing our economy in Greater Detroit.”
Through Road to Renaissance, six areas of impact were identified to accelerate and grow areas of the region’s economy. Five of the six impact areas were found to be viable, and supported with key resources.
They were:
- Developing an Aerotropolis
- Growing the creative economy
- Expanding entrepreneurial capacity
- Securing the future talent base
- Promoting globally while communicating locally
Rothwell noted that the sixth area of impact involved the construction of a mobility innovation center, and was found to be infeasible. “The plan called for a dedicated source of government funding. Without it, this portion of the original plan was not possible.” Rothwell said achieving the objectives identified through Road to Renaissance has helped develop a sound foundation for Greater Detroit’s future.
“By taking time up front to identify our areas of strength and opportunity, we are able to know with certainty which assets and resources our region can most readily capitalize upon,” Rothwell said. “With that solid base, our footing is more certain as we move into the future. We’ve worked our plan with very positive results, and our partners continue to expand upon these efforts.”
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