WHY NEW YORK IS EMULATING OUR CITY
Helen Sanderson gives her take on the Preston Model
I
was at in a meeting in late September where investment into our city was being discussed. It was interesting enough but anyone who knows me is going to appreciate that, I was struggling with the numbers and what that actually meant on paper. An individual around the table spoke up, he said: “I find it fascinating that I was on a call only the other week and the Deputy Mayor of New York was talking about the ‘Preston Model’.” My ears pricked up, New York? Really? My interest was piqued. Phillip Johnson,
the current Deputy Mayor of the City of New York, my (second) favourite city in the world talking about my hometown (and favourite, just in case you were wondering!). I suddenly felt a little foolish that I knew more about Deputy Mayor Johnson, who is responsible for spearheading a diverse number of initiatives to drive economic growth in the Big Apple, than I did about the politics and investment projects in Preston. I set about learning what I could about what exactly is the Preston Model.
WHAT IS THE PRESTON MODEL?
Preston City Council said: “The Preston Model is an approach to economic development that ensures wealth is redirected back into the local economy.” The ‘Preston Model’ is a term applied to how the council, its partners and ‘anchor institutions’ (I’ll explain who these are in a second) are maximising the benefit of economic development, and ensure that the wealth that is generated directly benefits the local community. Preston City Council explain its as: “The Preston Model, also known as Community
Wealth Building, is an approach to economic development that tackles inequality by ensuring wealth is redirected back into the local economy and shared more equally among its residents.”
THE PRESTON MODEL IS AN APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT ENSURES WEALTH IS REDIRECTED BACK INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY It’s about getting more ‘bang for your buck’, as our American cousins would say! In the 1980s Thatcher talked about the ‘trickle down’ idea of money being spent somehow finding its way into local communities. I guess this worked to an extent, but what is special about the Preston Model is that it tries to be much more deliberate and direct in capturing these economic benefits, and making sure they stick within the local community. Less like a ‘trickle’… more like a hose pipe! The Council committed itself to a co-operative initiative of local economic development in 2011 and Community
