By Joe Ragusa
NORMAL – The Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council brought in Pittsburgh’s former mayor Thursday night to share some insights into how cities can improve their urban development. Tom Murphy was mayor from 1994 to 2006 and since then, he has been a senior resident fellow with the Urban Land Institute.
He said the key to a strong economic base is a diverse job market.
“(Bloomington-Normal) has a good base,” Murphy said. “You have State Farm, they’re professional jobs. What are the other opportunities you have to diversify? Mitsubishi gave you a good manufacturing base, then that went away. Now can you replace that?”
Murphy said the universities in Bloomington-Normal are also big economic drivers in terms of jobs and cultivating talent. Keeping that talent is the next step and Murphy said investing in quality-of-life initiatives will keep young people from leaving.
He said universities helped turn around Pittsburgh’s economy after the steel industry fell.
During Murphy’s time as mayor, he oversaw the development of old, blighted land in downtown Pittsburgh into new commercial and residential properties. He also helped secure funding to build Heinz Field and PNC Park.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].
