It’s human nature to focus more on what’s going wrong than what’s going right.
I noticed that a lot when I lived in Atlanta. Except for its traffic and smog, Atlanta is the envy of most Southern cities. But get a group of Atlantans together, and all they do is complain.
Commerce Lexington recently took 275 local leaders to Austin, Texas, to learn about that city’s successes in economic development and improving the quality of life.
Chambers of commerce from other cities visit Lexington, too, and you might be surprised by their reactions.
“These groups come here and they just think we walk on water,” said Robert Quick, Commerce Lexington’s president. “The things they say about us are almost the opposite of how we often see ourselves.”
Since Quick moved to Lexington seven years ago from Evansville, Ind., three chambers have organized trips to Lexington: Gainesville, Fla., in 2001, Springfield, Mo., in 2003 and Evansville in 2006.
The visitors did things you might expect: Some went to Keeneland and Calumet Farm to learn about the horse industry. They heard about New Century Lexington’s livability study and how Blue Grass Airport has improved relations with its neighbors. The folks from Evansville visited Applebee’s Park because someday they hope to replace old Bosse Field, home of the Evansville Otters.
The visitors wanted to know how Lexington managed town-gown relations and leveraged university research for economic development. They wanted to talk about regional planning, and to see how our local governments work together — or don’t.
“All three groups came here before our downtown development was in full gear,” Quick said. “Still, they all thought we had a dynamic downtown.”
In addition to chamber groups, officials from elsewhere often contact UK and Lexington Urban County Government looking for ideas. According to people who get those calls, these are some of the things outsiders think we’ve done right:
• Merged government. In 1974, Lexington and Fayette County became the first place in Kentucky and one of the first in the nation to merge local governments. It saved money, made services more efficient and sidestepped the annexation fights and turf battles that plague cities and counties across America. The decision to make Lexington’s 15-member Urban County Council non-partisan also is seen as a plus.
• The Urban Service Area. Lexington was one of the first cities in America to try to control sprawl, protect rural land and control infrastructure costs by limiting growth. Without those limits, Fayette County would have more subdivisions, fewer farms and a lot less of its famous natural beauty. A related accomplishment that attracts national attention is our purchase-of-development-rights program, which lets farmers get tax breaks by making their land off-limits for future development.
Sure, people in Lexington still fight over controlling growth and keeping housing affordable, but other cities seem to think we manage the balance better than most.
• Lexington is fortunate to be located along interstate highways that run both east-west and north-south. And it is even more fortunate that, when those highways were built, they were routed around the city rather than through the middle of it. It was a controversial decision — and it still is among people who gripe about traffic.
Still, downtown Lexington has an enormous advantage over most cities trying to rebuild their urban core. There are no noisy highways dividing neighborhoods, no ugly off-ramps, and little industrial blight needing redevelopment.
It also helped that railroad tracks were taken out of downtown in the 1960s, although we’re now wishing we still had some of the old streetcar lines that were removed decades earlier.
• Although many grand old buildings were torn down in the last half of the 20th century, many others were preserved and reused, giving Lexington more historic fabric than most cities can claim. Unique, quality architecture is something that gives a city identity, making it a place where people want to live.
• Keeneland and the horse industry give Lexington a “brand” that is unique and authentic.
• Lexington has a major research university, an excellent liberal-arts college and a top-notch community and technical college, all near downtown. Add to that a good public school system, and we have an educational infrastructure most places would envy.
The secret to success lies in appreciating your advantages and enjoying your accomplishments without becoming self-satisfied, as people in Lexington can sometimes be. After all, if you think things are good enough, you’re unlikely to work very hard to make them better.
As a chamber of commerce executive, Quick is paid to promote Lexington. Still, he thinks many Lexingtonians have too little appreciation for the city’s quality of life, even as they recognize the need to improve some things.
Quick has noticed many changes in Lexington in the short time he has been here, and most of them have been for the better. Downtown is being revived, and fresh faces are bringing more diversity to decision-making, and local leaders are working better together and seem to share more of a common vision for the city’s future.
“It seems like in the last seven years we’ve gotten over the pettiness,” he said. “We still have our differences, but it’s a different conversation. Things could be better, but we have a lot more going for us than against us.”
