Precedents and Possibilities

A Platform for Collaboration

Mary Means, a noted U.S. planner and an expert on cultural heritage corridors, talked about how the heritage corridor concept has provided a platform for boundary-cross­ing collaboration in dozens of settings. (See page 24).

Many regions around the United States have used the “heritage corridor” framework to develop, interpret, link, and promote a wide range of historical, cultural, architectural, natural, and other attractions for the benefit of visitors and local economies alike.

The key, Means said, is to connect a large number of individual attractions to make a comprehensive regional destination — in short, to make the whole much more than the sum of its parts.  In this regard, the Niagara Falls region has far more to offer than other places, even before considering the Falls itself.

Beyond the immediate benefits, heritage corridor development has provided a non-threatening point of entry into the otherwise difficult work of multi-jurisdictional cooperation.  Heritage corridor development here could lay the organizational groundwork for other bi-national planning and development initiatives.

Six Million Dollars Invested

Robert C. O’Dell, a regional planner who has consulted with the Niagara Economic Tourism Corporation (NET Corp.), made the case for putting tourism development front and center in the broader effort toward economic development in the Niagara Region. (See page 28).

O’Dell outlined roughly $6 billion (Cdn) of current or planned investment in visitor facilities and related infrastructure on the Ontario side of the river and outlined the demand for nearly half again as much in hotels, entertainment centers, and retail.

Tourism, he said, is the largest and fastest growing economic sector in the world. With one of the planet’s great natural wonders at the center of the region, Niagara should expect to win more than its share of that growth.  Visitor traffic is expected to rise sharply, with employment and revenues in the tourism industry growing apace.

Ongoing, planned and recommended investments are part of a broader strategy for economic development in Ontar­io’s Niagara Region.  NET Corp., a private entity designated by provincial government to map regional development strategy and action, has identified five priority areas for investment: telecommunications-dependent sectors such as call centers, data processing, and distance learning; high-tech manufacturing; specialized agriculture; and adult lifestyle communities.  But tourism remains the key.

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The Border as an Asset

John Farrow, President of the Canadian Urban Institute, shared some of his recent work about suc­cessful city-regions.  At a minimum, Farrow said, to see the opportunities for the Niagara region we need to stop focusing on the border and start looking at a region that encompasses two jurisdictions. (See page 32).

The region’s conventional assets are significant.  Toronto-Buffalo-Roch­ester is the fourth largest urban region in North America and the second fastest growing.  It has a world class attraction, and an international “brand name” in Niagara Falls.  Geography is a funnel for economic activity — what­ever travels between Southern Ontario and the eastern U.S. must come through this region.

The region also has some unconventional assets.  Farrow urged the group to see the differences between the U.S. and Canada in tax and regulatory regimes, educational and medical systems, wage rates and skill packages as opportunities rather than burdens.

“If we create a region that crosses the border, we begin to create the type of tension that, if used properly, leads to the type of innovations that create value and then wealth.  The goal is to be world competitive, to be world class.”

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