As an example, he noted that his home area around Asheville is utilizing its obvious environmental beauty and rugged landscape to transform itself into a hub of outdoor sport and clean energy business activity. More than just promoting the region as a tourist destination that would lend itself to service sector jobs, McKinney also envisions companies in those industry segments making a home for themselves in and around Asheville. That would coincide with the city of Asheville also adopting transit and infill strategies to kickstart economic development and to reinvent itself as one of the country’s most sustainable and walkable downtown communities.
All told, GroWNC’s economic development strategy is best expressed in the organization’s five goals on the subject:
Improved economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
Effective job training programs that are matched to employment needs.
Establishment of partnerships and development of strategies for job creation.
Improved graduation rates and employability of local high school graduates.
Development of a partnership between affordable housing developers and transportation system coordinators and major employment providers.
In viewing access to transit, mixed-use development, walkable downtowns, and environmental and agricultural protection issues as inter-related, McKinney and GroWNC participants are revealing the true potential of smart growth. With every conversation, constituents and local officials take another step toward a more robust Western North Carolina economy, with housing and transportation options near jobs, shops and schools.