The economy touches the lives of an entire community, from local governments and private businesses to educational institutions, service organizations and residents.
Some look at new business development as a sign of economic health, while others track population growth as the prime metric.
At EVOLVE News, shining a light on success includes covering the many layers of economic activity to understand how they all come together to create and maintain the quality of life of a community. We call that Economic Vitality, a monthly feature that examines three vital components that provide a solid economic foundation.
Economic Vitality takes a holistic approach to reporting on business and economic development, from expansion projects to infrastructure improvements. Using three broad categories – jobs and talent, attainable housing and sustainability — the economic health and well-being of a community and its residents comes into focus.
Sustainability includes a range of issues from infrastructure improvements to resiliency projects as well as environmental and historic preservation efforts. And as a prime tourism destination, that also includes protecting the county’s beaches as well as protecting green spaces.
As one of the fastest growing states in the nation, Attainable Housing is an issue cities and counties across Florida are focusing on, most with a sense of urgency. The attainable housing component of Economic Vitality is generally defined as housing that is affordable to households earning 120% or less of the median area-wide income.
Jobs and Talent forms the third leg of the Economic Vitality triad. Having an educated workforce and a pool of candidates ready to fill positions in a variety of industries and technologies is an important element in attracting new business development and expansion. From training programs to institutions of higher education, community commitment to workforce development is a key element in the economic development calculus.
