Jacksonville analyzed by Florida Trend

[John P]

Florida Trend has an indepth analysis of the City of Jacksonville on it's website. I feel it's right on in most of it's analysis. This is one portion of the piece.


View from a Competitor

Florida Trend asked an economic development professional in a market that competes with Jacksonville to assess the city’s strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:
”Jacksonville has been linked ‘to a great sea by a great river’ since its beginning days. With the widening of the Panama Canal, scheduled for completion in 2014, Jacksonville is poised to assume an even more powerful leadership role in the coming era of giant cargo ships. But its greatest strength is its model of government, created in 1968. Jacksonville is today the envy of civic, business and governmental leaders from across our state, since its one-stop-style-of-local-government makes doing things in Jacksonville easy when compared to most other cities and counties in Florida.”

Weaknesses:
"Although it is the largest city in our state by size, when contrasted to and when competing with other regions of Florida, Jacksonville has a comparatively small population. As a result, it lacks some of the amenities and the quality of life image now being demanded by the creative class. In the years ahead, Jacksonville will have to learn how to better showcase its assets; not just to future residents now living in other parts of the United States, but to those citizens looking to relocate to the United States from other countries. This international competition for talent is going to be an especially difficult game for Jacksonville to win, unless it establishes new ways of recruiting highly skilled, highly educated, highly motivated workers, essential for the new economy.”

To read the entire peice you have to register, its free. Its well worth it to see what they have to say about the city. http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=51436

[finehoe]

the landmark mayoral administration of John Delaney from 1995-2003 marked a turn in city politics away from traditional good-ol’-boy dealings

How many MJ-ers believe this?

[Bativac]

"Jacksonville [...]lacks some of the amenities and the quality of life image now being demanded by the creative class. In the years ahead, Jacksonville will have to learn how to better showcase its assets; not just to future residents now living in other parts of the United States, but to those citizens looking to relocate to the United States from other countries. This international competition for talent is going to be an especially difficult game for Jacksonville to win, unless it establishes new ways of recruiting highly skilled, highly educated, highly motivated workers, essential for the new economy.”

They are absolutely right with that statement, and I have come to realize that the city isn't going to change for the better in that regard at all. At least, not anytime soon.

[finehoe]

I thought this seemed familiar:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,7923.msg139122.html#msg139122

[fieldafm]

the landmark mayoral administration of John Delaney from 1995-2003 marked a turn in city politics away from traditional good-ol’-boy dealings

How many MJ-ers believe this?

He was the best mayor Jacksonville has had in my lifetime.. and the best for the last  50 years.

Delaney holds very high reverance in my book of awesome.

I think Audrey has the opportunity to be the best mayor in Jacksonville's history.  .:cough:. vote Audrey Moran .:cough:.