Progress for America’s Auto Communities

On Tuesday the President gave a sweeping talk on the economy to some hard-working folks in Youngstown, Ohio.  I want to emphasize one particular part of his address:

Today my administration is announcing a landmark agreement to help dozens of communities like Youngstown revitalize and redevelop old, shuttered GM facilities, preparing them for new industries, new jobs, and new opportunity.

That’s exciting news for auto communities.

The same day, the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers, US Department of Labor, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, and Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities came together to co-sponsor Auto Communities and the Next Economy: Partnerships in Innovation, a summit held in Washington, DC.

Ed Montgomery, Executive Director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities, speaks on challenges and solutions for auto communities,

The event brought together about 300 people from Michigan and Ohio down to Alabama and Louisiana, from California across to Delaware. There were auto suppliers, union officials, colleges and university leaders, foundation and community based organization heads, economic development experts as well as members of Congress, as well as federal, state and local government officials who came to discuss the challenges auto communities still face and ways in which these entities can effectively partner together to solve these problems. We not only talked about the issues, but concrete actions were taken.