Economy League of Greater Philadelphia takes first steps with four local organizations in World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative

With its first business growth priority meeting out of the way and an education-focused meeting planned for Friday, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia has helped advance the next stage of its multi-year World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative to make the city more competitive.

More than two years in the making, it’s among the region’s most referenced efforts for big planning toward the future.

World Class Greater Philadelphia held a summit put on by the Economy League, the Center City-based regional economic development research and analysis nonprofit, on Feb 2, 2012 to announce a four-way, six-to-nine-month partnership with the CEO Council for Growth, the United Way of Southeaster Pennsylvania and the Urban Land Institute. According to the WCGP timeline, this partnership kicks off the third major milestone for the initiative, which Technically Philly has covered previously.

Each organization will focus on one of the three priorities — business growth, education and talent development, and infrastructure — sketched out in a report by the Economy League, “Focus 2026: Priorities and Goals for a World Class Greater Philadelphia.” The CEO Council for Growth is working on business growth, the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania is looking at education and talent development, and the Philadelphia chapter of the Urban Land Institute is tasked on infrastructure.

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Steven Wray and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia looks toward 2026

Headshot at center courtesy of Candace diCarlo.

Updated: 5/30/10 @ 11:48 p.m.: Wrong David

It’s 2026 and a lot has changed.

Online databases, tracking codes and service applications have washed over much of the country’s municipalities, making leaner, more transparent and effective local governments, and Philadelphia became among the movement’s leaders. A smarter, cleaner, more efficient mass transportation system shuttles residents from a reshaped Frankford to a recast Kingsessing.

Philadelphia exports enough entertainment, eating, music and culture that we can cool it on the cheesesteak and Rocky references. Our sports teams win, and City Council has enacted smart policies around affordable housing, education and healthcare. Every flashy magazine city list — however those magazines are distributed and in what form — explores our depths.

Philadelphia is again regarded as among the best places to live in the world.

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Economy League’s Steven Wray says entrepreneurs can save 2026

In an informal partnership with Philadelphia magazine’s new Philly Post daily news blog, Technically Philly will be offering our insight on Philadelphia technology to a broader audience of tech-interested individuals every Tuesday. As is true of so much of our effort, this is yet another opportunity to voice the triumphs and concerns of the community to a broader audience in the city and beyond.

Inside the pages of this magazine’s December 2008 issue, the 100 moments that most shaped this city were listed in careful detail.

No. 66 was Philadelphia’s 1976 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — and the celebration’s failure to live up to expectations of what could have been a “splashy affair befitting its status as the nation’s birthplace.” Instead, that feature’s contributors dubbed it “a glorified community-theater production of The Music Man.”

Maybe that’s what has the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and its Executive Director Steven Wray all hot and bothered.

Read the rest here.