Goodbye Fort Wayne
As a young sophomore in Youth Leadership Fort Wayne, I listened to then-mayor Graham Richard discuss the importance of attracting young, degree-bearing entrepreneurs to the city. He stressed this as the number one economic goal for mayors. Entrepreneurs create jobs, wealth, and their success results in a cascade effect of economic development.
Over the past few years it has become apparent to me that the City of Fort Wayne no longer believes in a mission of revitalizing its neighborhoods, entertainment venues, or downtown to create a community in which young people can happily coexist and thrive.
When the first announcements of a downtown revitalization project came into the public eye, all I heard from many voices in the community were grumblings about the impending failure of the project. We’ve seen part of the deal go awry, and these grumblings have only grown louder. Instead of spending our energy unifying as a community and developing a cohesive plan for downtown development, we simply sit on the sidelines and gripe about the proposals of others.
While there are some groups truly doing great work in Allen County and Fort Wayne, the overall sentiment of the community seems to be satisfaction with the status-quo despite the fact that it’s clearly not working. The library system is absolutely wonderful, we have one of the best collection of health systems around, and I’ve learned so much from the people at Leadership Fort Wayne.
However, the tide of this Indiana community doesn’t favor an environment that’s going to focus on growth & development in the creative economy. I don’t see the ideas coming out of this city that are necessary for the continued development of a community in this new global business world. It just isn’t happening – the city is becoming stagnant with old people and old ideas. A renewed focus is needed on developing a community that attracts young people to the heart of the city, but the people of Fort Wayne just don’t seem to be desiring that kind of a city.
Fort Wayne, I wish you all the best – I hope that you’ll take this message as another testimony to the necessity of a change in stagnant community vision that currently pollutes the public discussion.
Goodbye.
Photo Credit: Shane Pequinot, Eye Pix Photography
