The pioneers and pacesetters of New Orleans' business community understand the perils of trying to build a durable institution without a blueprint. In an effort to successfully map out the future of Louisiana's most notorious city, local leaders recently ventured north to Minneapolis for an "Urban Workshop" that brought to the surface many tangible examples of hazards and winning strategies encountered during the process of city redevelopment.

Back home, representatives from educational and technological communities are looking toward the Naval Information Technology Center as a shining example of New Orleans' potential for the 21st Century. Simultaneously, grassroots change agents are working to bolster local institutions such as the New Orleans Center for Science and Math, and the New Orleans Technology Council, which they believe demonstrate the passion and purpose of a reinvigorated city.

[Kimberly Williamson]

I just returned from a three-day conference on regionalism. It was based in Minneapolis and it was called 'Urban Workshop '99.' About 80 leaders from the New Orleans area attended the conference so that we could explore some of the best practices Minneapolis has used to develop their city. The turnout for that workshop demonstrates local leaders' commitment to look beyond our own resources, identify the best practices from outside the area, and put those strategies to work. Conference attendees included the president of Louisiana Operations at Bell South, a state senator from the Louisiana legislature, the vice chancellor of University of New Orleans, the head of a well-respected private school in the area, the vice president of the Times-Picayune newspaper, the executive director of one of New Orleans' neighborhood development groups, and a local mayor.
Together, we learned about initiatives needed to grow the city regionally.

The most critical priority is to bring up the quality of education in elementary schools, middle schools, and higher education. Improving the quality of our work force is going to be a critical goal for the future as well. Communities across the country are integrating technology into their economy in many creative ways. For example, New Orleans will be focusing on biotechnology. There's a real opportunity here for us to grow in that area. And by going to Minneapolis, I realized that we're much further ahead in that area than I had imagined.