That , too , begins with people , finding out how they want the community to progress , Wallace said , including good parks and recreation strategies , arts and entertainment and economic development strategies as well as transportation .
“ All of these things , along with infrastructure plans , are part of responsible growth ,” he said . “ What you don ’ t want to do is be in a position where the growth took place faster than your infrastructure can keep up with it .”
Wallace said not all residents see economic growth the same and often don ’ t differentiate between different kinds of growth .
“ There ’ s what people consider residential growth and there is economic development growth ,” he said . “ In my experience , people are always receptive to economic development growth . With residential growth , as long as the growth doesn ’ t impact people , then people are usually okay .”
From that broader regional view , Wallace said there is a lot going on in the seven Northeast Florida counties that comprise the JAXUSA Partnership .
“ The suburban counties are seeing growth , both in population and economic ,” he said , citing a bottling facility project and marine equipment company in Clay County , projects in Baker County and several accomplishments in Flagler County , including Boston Whaler and Palm Coast earning the gigabyte city designation .
Wallace said overall , economic growth is a positive for the region , but it requires public and private entities working together to achieve a common goal .
“ If you don ’ t have economic growth , your community doesn ’ t grow ,” he said . “ Private investment follows public investment at the end of the day . If you are investing in yourself , you will see private investment .”
Howard Holley is Co-Founder and CEO of TouchPoint Innovative Solutions and Publisher of EVOLVE Magazine .
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