Howard Grossman: Poconos can learn from the advantages of Columbus, Ohio

Howard J. Grossman
·3 min read

In a past column, I have talked about a book written in 2018, titled “Our Towns," authored by James and Deborah Fallows, who flew across much of this nation and visited many communities.

One such visitation was Columbus, Ohio, a large city of over one million people, but one we might learn from for the Pocono-Northeast. It is the capital of Ohio, and not the only Columbus in the United States.

The Fallows believe that Columbus thinks of itself as a smaller community than it truly is. Perhaps, when you placed Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the Hazleton Areas as a Metropolitan Area together with the Pocono Mountain communities, you reach a stage that portends a Columbus situation.

Here are some of the advantages which Columbus offers in relation to what could happen in this region.

  • The Battelle Research Center that has grown to over $6 billion at the time the Fallows identifies this condition. Such a Center could be established in this region based upon the work of such entities as the NEPA Alliance (formerly Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania [EDCNP]) and related institutions such as all the colleges and universities in the region and the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development and many others.

  • A humming, stylish downtown, something which could be the future of several central business districts in the Pocono-Northeast. The Fallows saw a healthy downtown package, a goal that is being tracked in some of our regional communities.

  • Diversification of the Columbus economy, something that has been achieved, in part, in this region with more likely to happen in coming years. A spirit of collaboration, a spirit of openness, and a long-term commitment to the community were identified, an expectation that business leaders felt incumbent that something was expected of them.

  • Boutiques and art galleries are important, and are slowly occurring in several regional communities, and the Fallows met immigrants who have settled in Columbus such as a Korean growth factor, and inside this region are showing signs of settlement by immigrants from various countries.

  • A strong public-private partnership exists in Columbus and is a factor in this region as well, as demonstrated by the NEPA Alliance and other partnerships across the Pocono-Northeast.

  • The public library system is a backbone of the Columbus experience and is a significant element in this region. The Fallows believe that libraries ae the heart and soul of American communities.

  • Technology in libraries and the use of computers and other tools is strong in Columbus as it is in the Pocono-Northeast.

If the characteristics that separate Columbus from many other places but demonstrate as well a sign of what the region here can bring to the economic and community development table today and in the future. Learning from, and applying these characteristics, we should be in a position to become a Fallows location in coming years.

Let us invite them to see what this region offers in the years ahead as we grow and focus on a creativity and innovation across the Pocono-Northeast.

Howard J. Grossman, AICP operates his own consulting company, HJG Associates, in Pittston, PA. He has a Master of Public Administration from New York University. He served as Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania (EDCNEPA). He may be contacted at grossmanhj@aol.com.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Howard Grossman: Columbus, Ohio, offers lessons for the Poconos