How Will Philadelphia Become World-Class? Economy League's Steve Wray Has a Powerful Idea

In the latest edition of GPA's "Once -- and Future -- International City" series, published regularly in the Philadelphia Business Journal, Economy League Executive Director Steve Wray sketches how the World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative is helping pave the way for Philadelphia's growth and global development.

The question of how to help Philadelphia become a world-class city, Mr. Wray writes, has been in the air for quite some time. One answer to this question on which many agree is that "that the secret to achieving Greater Philadelphia’s higher aspirations starts with greater focus and collaboration."

The Economy League's World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative is one such focused, collaborative endeavor that has brought together regional leaders and stakeholders to set priorities for Philadelphia's growth. These priorities fall into three categories: Education and Talent Development, Business Growth, and Infrastructure. From here, and over the next few months, Mr. Wray writes,

"...the Economy League will be joining forces with the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the CEO Council for Growth, and Urban Land Institute-Philadelphia to convene thought leaders and practitioners to identify the most promising short- and long-run strategies to achieve these World Class goals. This effort will result in the creation of Global Positioning Strategies — or GPSes — by the end of 2012 that will help guide ongoing collaboration to improve regional education and talent development outcomes, boost business growth, and make our infrastructure more effective and reliable. These open-source strategy documents will set the stage for immediate initiatives and campaigns to be taken on by World Class partners."

To access the full-text of Mr. Wray's spirited and well-informed discussion, you may download it here. Alternately,  you can access all articles in our "Once -- and Future -- International City" series here. And remember to join the conversation around global citizenship on our Global Philadelphia Association Facebook page.

_{Photos by Jeff Fusco, courtesy of Economy League:
-- View from New Jersey of Philly and the Ben Franklin Bridg
-- The Economy League's World Class Greater Philadelphia Initiative}

_{Images retrieved from Flying Kite Media.}