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Bay area's hits and misses

By Times editorial
Published May 30, 2006

The portrait of the Tampa Bay area that business leaders unveiled recently is refreshingly honest and helpful to this fast-changing region. The study found Tampa Bay rich with land, major employers and cheap entertainment. But sprawl, weak civic involvement and an aging population pose social and economic challenges ahead.

The report, "Things Look Different Here," gave the Tampa Bay Partnership a candid look at the region's balance sheet. The study measured Tampa Bay against dozens of regional markets, examining its population, economic base, societal attitudes and sense of community.

While the area is strong in banking, financial services and the electronics industry, it lags in entrepreneurship. Education, the arts and civic life are not where the region needs to be to attract emerging "creative industries" - everything from the arts and marketing to other clean, high-tech companies. Local residents are among Americans most likely to work for a large employer, not themselves. Tampa Bay is a leader in employee leasing activity, medical device manufacturing and boat building. It ranks third in strip clubs per capita, but its residents also are conservative - homebodies who like the suburbs, the beaches and enjoying a movie at home.

These are not the ingredients of a yuppie-fied transformation that younger business leaders in particular hold out for our larger cities. But we also have seen in St. Petersburg and Tampa incredible growth in the downtown residential and retail market. Another opportunity is to reach out to the 77-million baby boomers nearing retirement. The report calls on leaders "to invent new ways for boomers to combine career and retirement." This good idea is one example of how the study puts civic boosterism aside and focuses on reality.

[Last modified May 30, 2006, 06:04:56]