A Message From Charles “Chuck” D’Aprix

Founder, Economic Development Visions

I am an economic development rule breaker—a maverick if you will. I also am an implementer—studies are fine—but eventually we have to pull the trigger and IMPLEMENT!

It is time to throw off the bonds of “traditional economic development” and infuse some creativity, intellectualism and innovation into the fields of economic development, downtown revitalization and neighborhood renewal. It is also time we hold the large consulting firms accountable for the outrageous fees they charge for boilerplate material. That is what I have been doing and will continue to do.

Yes, of course many cities, neighborhoods and towns have experienced an economic rebirth. But folks, far too many have not. Much of this stems from lack of creativity and innovation and from an economic development establishment that does not tolerate change. I reject the established approach and bring bold, exciting and new approaches to economic development. I am indeed a rule breaker—and an implementer. Sure I can give you a study—a damned good one—but in the final analysis you want implementation. If you are like most economic development professionals, your area has been studied to death. You now want some action.

I am irked by the fact that the economic development establishment is still mired in the outmoded approach to economic development. We still have economic development executives jetting off to “lure” a prospect or the “next big thing.” Too many economic development professionals have been reduced to the equivalent of used car sales people—working the next prospect. The first time I heard an economic development professional talk about “working a prospect,” I almost fell off my chair.

We need to concentrate on creating vital local economies, local entrepreneurship, business retention, linkages, creativity and IMPLEMENTATION--- not another study. We also need to use incentives wisely, not as another form of corporate welfare.

When I speak of entrepreneurship I am talking about the smallest business in an incubator right up to the emerging technology in a Science or University Park. We also need to develop true public/private partnerships that will offer progressive and meaningful incentives—and we need to stop “over studying” our communities and start IMPLEMENTING.

We must turn our attention to the redevelopment of our neighborhoods so that people of all income levels can live in dignity. Economic Development Professionals must also promote the need for affordable housing—we cannot dump that issue at the feet of Community Development professionals. We need to revitalize our downtowns and commercial corridors carefully and creatively with attention paid to quality design, Smart Growth and Historic Preservation. Downtowns become a reflection of the community as a whole.

We as economic development professionals must, MUST become more attuned to design while becoming fluent in the language of Smart Growth, Place Making, New Urbanism, Historic Preservation, Housing, The Control of Sprawl and The Encouragement of Outstanding Design. Just as we cannot dump housing at the feet of Community Development, we cannot dump design at the feet of the planning professionals in our community.

Perhaps most important—we need to start breaking some economic development “rules” and infusing a sense of economic development excitement into our cities, counties, downtowns and neighborhoods. I firmly believe I can help you on that journey. If you have been studied to death, or feel as though you are in an economic development rut—please call us. We at Economic Development Visions are a creative, innovative and maverick “boutique” consulting firm that is reasonable in price and ready to start breaking some rules. The old way hasn’t worked as well as it should---let’s start shaking things up. I look forward to joining you on that journey.

Chuck D’Aprix

Founder, Economic Development Visions

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHUCK D’APRIX
(REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF LSN 2007)

RS: Do you still consider yourself an economic development maverick?

D’Aprix: Without a doubt-yes—now more than ever!! I reject a great deal of economic development convention—chasing after businesses, throwing money at businesses in what can only be considered corporate welfare. I am much more concerned about planning and superb design than the economic development community is generally, and I believe that economic development must be incorporated into place making much more than it is. Of course I still recoil from office parks, industrial parks and other places that aren’t places—they actually are economic deterrents in the long-run. The job creation aspect of those areas is overblown.

I also think I am an iconoclast in that I bring an abiding interest in not only outstanding design, good planning and place making—but I am appalled at the duplication of effort in economic development within cities, counties and towns and by the absurd amounts of money spent on such things as marketing campaigns and …yes, consultants, and lots of other things. Someone has to say the emperor has no clothes. There are large consulting firms making a killing from economic analyses, and ad agencies are getting rich off the taxpayers. ENOUGH!

That is why, despite the fact I run a boutique consulting business, I am very reasonably priced. We also conduct far far far far too many studies in this field. When an economic development department doesn’t know what to do—they do a study (laughs). Hell, I do them, but I do them so that they have meaning and are understandable. If you asked the average economic development person what “leakage” was they couldn’t tell you---and they could not translate that to policy. If you can’t translate a study to tangible policy—the study was a waste of time, money and energy—period.

What is really sad is that most economic development people don’t know what to do with a market analysis when they get one—and they don’t understand that even the best—the gold standard of economic studies if you will-- is severely limited it what it reveals. So (laughs) I guess you can say I am a maverick. I want to shake things up in the economic development world—and sometimes that makes people uncomfortable. I wear the maverick label proudly—but also I like to think I bring to bear an intellectual’s view of economic development. Intellectual, maverick, iconoclast—that’s me.

RS: Last time we spoke you were just getting started with your two consulting businesses—how are they going?

D’Aprix: Fine, I run 2 businesses as you know, Economic Development Visions and The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project. I have several clients for Economic Development Visions and I am turning the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project into a non profit because I think it will better serve the urban revitalization and downtown revitalization communities with the ability to attract foundation and other philanthropic money. We will be able to attract grant money and bring it to communities. However, with Economic Development Visions I remain very much the capitalist (laughs).

RS: So you are an economic development maverick—but what are you offering that distinguishes you from the next consultant?

D’Aprix: Well, I ran through a number of things a minute ago. However the biggest competitive advantage I have besides price—and I won’t compete on price but quality—is that I am an executor. IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT—that is my mantra. Economic Development and downtown revitalization people seem so reticent about pulling the trigger on actually implementing something. We study things to death—but we don’t implement. That is what I do—I bring things to fruition, I make things happen, I get projects completed. Sure I do studies, but I Implement, Implement, Implement. You get the idea I think. Did I mention implementation? I also think I bring intellectual rigor to the table—something sorely needed in the field.

RS: We talked about you being an “economic development guru” last time. You did not shy away from the label, although you didn’t entirely embrace it. What are you now?

D’Aprix: Well, guru is such a loaded, overblown word. So I’ll use it. In many ways I am an economic development guru—someone breaking with convention and shaking things up. I look at the big names and I bring as much intellectual fire power and creativity to the table as any of them…more in most instances. As they say... “it ain’t bragging if you can do it”

RS: Do you still consider yourself in the same league as say Andres Duany or Richard Florida or Calthorpe and the others.

D’Aprix: Yes. I feel intellectually and professionally in the same league as those folks and all the other big names you can throw at me. Except the late Jane Jacobs and the late William Whyte—they are icons to me—heroes. I am a maverick who takes chances, I am an intellectual who reasons and I am a risk taker. Maybe I am feeling my oats a bit—but I am in the top tier of economic and urban revitalization people nationally. Remember that Duany and Calthorpe are architects—I am not. Florida is an intellectual and ground breaking academic. I avoid the academy. I am in their league—just on a different team.

RS: What sets you apart from the big firms?

D’Aprix: I run a boutique shop that is affordable, creative, innovative, tethered to an intellectual imperative—and damn we get the job done. We don’t “futz” around and engage in self aggrandizement –we go into a city, take the pulse, look at existing data , do whatever research needs to be done and then we IMPLEMENT AND EXECUTE. We have fun, we have a sense of humor and we are inspired. You just can’t say that about the big shops. I like to think I bring a little charisma—a little charm perhaps, to the job.

We stay loose and have fun. When I am not having fun on a job it’s awful. But I always fulfill my contractual responsibilities. As a small shop I can also call on some of the best independent talent out there—the energy we can create is amazing.

RS: Whom do you respect in the field these days—has the list changed from last time?

D’Aprix: Well I don’t remember the list from last time, but I can tell you whom I really like as people who are original—and God knows this field of economic development lacks originality. I like Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk a great deal—don’t know ‘em personally, but damned they are original and innovative. Same for Calthorpe.

I really like Pierre Clavel from Cornell who advocates equity planning, and I like Jane Kay Holtz and Alex Marshall, and Neil Peirce’s regional approach. Kennedy Smith former Director of the National Main Street Center is good and Tom Moriarty from ERA is a good economic analyst. David Dixon from Goody Clancy is my role model—I like his downtown work. I recently met a guy by the name of John Talmage from the Social Compact who is passionate about what he does. You’ve got to love James Howard Kunstler because he’s an original—sort of the Hunter Thompson of the urban revitalization set. There is a blogger/consultant named Richard Layman I like a great deal…. Richard works with us on occasion. He’s an intellectual in a vast wasteland. And I’d say Roberta Brandes-Gratz and Dan Burden. There are so many really good people. I feel if I start listing people I admire I’ll leave someone off the list.

RS: Some have said that your maverick attitude makes you ego-centric.

D’Aprix: Probably. Most iconoclasts are. I am cutting-edge, original, talented, creative and funny and know one helluva lot about economic development, downtown and commercial revitalization--- and I can read a city in a heartbeat. I’m good at economic development. What can I say? But the client gets 150% of me –period.
There are things I’m not good at— that list could go on all day--but I am good at economic development. So be it. I haven’t met anyone better—but maybe I am not looking too hard (laughs)

RS: What really irks you these days?

D’Aprix: The damned lack of creativity that exists in the field and the inability of firms to implement—study yes, implement no! I don’t get that. I also don’t like trendy things.
No use mentioning them. I mean Richard Florida is brilliant—but have we had enough of the Creative Class stuff yet? If you listen to Smart City Radio—and few do—you begin to see/hear the same thing over and over and over and over again. There is a dearth of creativity –which is ironic since that still seems like a hot topic. Perhaps we should recruit the Creative Class to economic development. But seriously, if you do listen to Smart Radio which is a radio program about cities, or read the professional journals—you see the same names, the same recycled concepts—I should say hear and see the same names and the same recycled concepts.

I’d like to hear someone say—“you know what, there is a lack of innovation in economic development, a lack of intellectual firepower and an economic development establishment that does not accept change well…and we waste a lot of money in the name of economic development.” I guess the person to say that is me—because I just did.

Duplication of services within a city, county or downtown drives me up a wall and of course too many studies and not enough implementation! IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT!

RS: What else irks you?

D’Aprix: New Urbanist Projects that do not use local entrepreneurs as retailers within the project. It can be done, it should be done and it almost never is. Also bad charrettes irk me. I do good ones--not some superficial visioning session. Also unnecessary organizations that are supposed to be think tanks for economic development and urban revitalization irk me. Let the universities and established places like Brookings handle it. Also, it really ticks me off when foundations support these type of groups and it irks me when they keep throwing money at more studies. Enough studies—IMPLEMENT ALREADY. Are you seeing a theme?

RS: What is catching your attention these days in the field—what are you liking?

D’Aprix: Despite what I said about Richard Florida—he still is bright as hell and an innovator. I love the Project for Public Spaces(www.pps.org). I think economic development and commercial corridor development is about place making and some people are getting that—PPS does. It bugs me when cities copy the suburbs and put in malls or lifestyle centers or whatever they call them. Be authentic. That really is my new mantra—well not really. My new mantra in IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT—but be authentic in design and place making! That is why 25 years after it started, I still love the Main Street Program—it is authentic. No Disneyland—it’s the real deal. I also still am a proponent of Smart Growth in all its incarnations and I think we need to encourage urban living and try to stop exurban sprawl—all sprawl as far as that goes. I think the anti-big box crowd gets a little too doctrinaire and condescending, but I’d throw my lot in with them before the big-box developer(most of the time).

RS: Any final thoughts?

D’Aprix: Let’s support good design and entrepreneurship far more than we do in economic revitalization. Let’s think about economic development in terms of place making—not just business development. Let us stop buying into trendy concepts, let us make cities and towns “real” and if your hire an economic development consultant, make sure they IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT and aren’t selling you another study. If you keep these principles in mind you will be ahead of the game. Hire mavericks—we make things interesting.

RS: Thanks

D’Aprix: My pleasure. Now I have to go implement something.