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WHILE WE WERE BUSY WITH THE
KCPT MEMBERSHIP DRIVE LAST WEEK, KANSAS CITY MAYOR SLY JAMES WAS BUSY SAVING AMERICA'S URBAN
CITIES. MORE THAN A DOZEN U.S. MAYORS ROLLED INTO TOWN ALONG WITH
POLITICAL AND THOUGHT LEADERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY. THEY WERE CONVENING AT THE
KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOR THE CITY AGE SUMMIT ON THE NEW AMERICAN CITY.
KANSAS CITY IS ONLY THE THIRD PLACE AND THE FIRST U.S. CITY WHERE CITY AGE HAS HELD A
SUMMIT. THE FIRST TWO HAVE BEEN IN CANADA.
WELL, THE KANSAS CITY EVENT WOUND UP ATTRACTING MORE THAN 550 PEOPLE FROM 259
ORGANIZATIONS AND 73 CITIES. PRODUCER JUSTIN BOND EAVESDROPPED ON SOME OF THE
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE TWO DAY CONVENTION THAT INCLUDED A NOD TO KANSAS CITY'S MUSICAL
HERITAGE.
¶. AND SO THE MUSIC HERE CONTINUES, AND I'M DELIGHTED TO
HAVE YOU FROM ALL ACROSS THE NATION AND BEYOND
HERE IN KANSAS CITY TO TALK ABOUT BUILDING AND
REBUILDING THE GREAT AMERICAN AND THE NEW AMERICAN CITY. IT'S A TIME FOR A NATIONAL
CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR CITIES. KANSAS CITY IS A SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PLACE TO HAVE THAT VERY
CONVERSATION, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
BEING THE MAYOR OF A CITY, IT'S A LITTLE BIT
LIKE PLAYING JAZZ. IF YOU AIN'T GOT THAT SWING AND YOU CAN'T COLLABORATE, YOU AIN'T
GOING TO GET ANYTHING DONE. ¶. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS
PULLING FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THEIR OBLIGATION. THE STATE GOVERNMENT IS, TOO.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE NOW SADDLED WITH TAKING
CARE OF MORE AND MORE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
I READ RECENTLY 250 TO 500 BILLION IS GOING TO BE NEEDED TO INVEST AND REPLACE
INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IN CITIES. WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT, AND
HOW DO WE PAY FOR IT? WE LOOK AT EVERY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, EVERY
PUBLIC SECTOR PROJECT AS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN THAT THERE'S ALWAYS SOME PRIVATE
SECTOR ROLE. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK OF BOTH THE PUBLIC AND THE
PRIVATE BEING INVOLVED IN EVERY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT. ELECTRICAL SUBSTATIONS, FOR
INSTANCE, THAT ARE OCCUPYING VERY VALUABLE CITY PROPERTY CAN BE RESTRUCTURED AND BUILT
UNDERGROUND WITH CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, AND THE LAND ABOVE THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED.
THAT'S TO THE BENEFIT OF THE DEVELOPER, TAX REVENUES THAT THE CITY DIDN'T OTHERWISE HAVE.
IN THESE CASH STRAPPED TIMES, CREATIVITY IS REALLY THE KEY. HOW TECHNOLOGY IS RESHAPING
URBAN CITIES WAS ANOTHER BIG PANEL CONVERSATION. GUESTS GOT TO HEAR FROM THE
MAYOR OF CHATTANOOGA, WHICH LAST YEAR BECAME THE
FIRST CITY IN THE NATION TO OFFER ONE GIGABYTE
FIBER TO EVERY HOME AND BUSINESS IN THE CITY. THE FUTURE OF CITIES IS
DEPENDENT NOT JUST ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE, BUT ON THE QUALITY OF THE
INDIVIDUALS, THE CREATIVITY, THE SMART YOUNG
MINDS, AND SO THE FIBER TO THE HOME HAS GIVEN US A
LEG UP. CHATTANOOGA HAS SUDDENLY BECOME COOL.
AGAIN. AGAIN. NOT LOSING OUR YOUTH TO OTHER
PLACES. AN ELDERLY COUPLE WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR AT OUR RETAIL
SPACE OVER ON THE CORNER OF WESTPORT AND STATE LINE ROAD AND JUST STARTS PROFUSELY THANKING
US. WHAT FOR? OTHER ONLY SON WHO IS 26
WORKS DOING APP DEVELOP IN NEW YORK. BECAUSE OF FIBER, HE'S COMING
HOME TO KANSAS CITY. FROM NEW YORK CITY. FROM NEW YORK CITY.
THIS KIND OF CONNECTIVITY GIVES A HUGE ADVANTAGE TO COMMUNITIES LIKE KANSAS CITY,
CHATTANOOGA, ET CETERA. SORRY IF THERE IS ANYBODY FROM NEW YORK HERE.
THERE'S ONE RIGHT HERE. I GET AN E-MAIL FROM A FRIEND IN ATLANTA SAYING, YOU KNOW,
THERE'S AN ARTICLE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN CHATTANOOGA IN THE ATLANTA PAPER TODAY.
I SAID REALLY? YOU CAN GOOGLE THIS. I THINK I CAN SAY GOOGLE HERE.
IT SAYS CHATTANOOGA LURES COMPUTER SAVVY PROFESSIONALS WITH CASH, AND THIS KIND OF
GIGABYTE TALENT IS THE FUTURE. WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD AT GOOGLE
LOOKING TO WAYS TO ACTUALLY IMPROVE THAT SPEED, 10 G AND BEYOND, BECAUSE THIS
INFRASTRUCTURE WE PUT IN IS NOT GOING TO BE OBSOLETE. THERE IS A CROSSROADS WHETHER OR
NOT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS GOING TO GROW, BE ABLE
TO BE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE OR WHETHER OR NOT
THE NEXT SET OF STARTUPS AND INNOVATION IS GOING TO HAPPEN OUTSIDE THE U.S.
BUT RATHER THAN TRYING TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, MY GOAL IS TO INVEST.
¶. THE BEE BOP JAZZ SOUND WAS BORN BECAUSE OF THE JAM SESSION,
WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS CONFERENCE IS, A JAM SESSION. IT'S GREAT MINDS COMING TOGETHER
TO SHARE, IMPROVISE AND IMPROVE. ¶. [ APPLAUSE ].