Photo of Jack Templin by bjepson on flickr
My Twittersphere and Facebooksphere have been lit up with talk about Jack Templin being nominated to the RI Economic Development Commission Board by Governor Chafee and with good reason. Aside from being a friend of mine, a great mind in the Rhode Island tech sector, and an all around good guy, Jack is a strong champion of healthy cities and the correlation between a vibrant city and a strong economy.
Jack famously (or maybe that is infamously) coined the term “Made, Paid, & Laid” as a formula for preventing the brain drain of our best and brightest university students. The “Laid” part is the part we are most interested in here (of course). Meaning, that in order to retain young people, we need to have a city that is vibrant, with plenty of social and entertainment opportunities. A city where a young person is not bored and yes, can find a mate, or two, or whatever, that’s personal…
And in order to maximize their time enjoying our vibrant city, the city needs things like robust transit, walkable streets, and dense residential, shopping, work, and entertainment districts.
So while the tech sector is excited, us urbanists should be too. I’m sure Jack will be a strong voice for smart growth and urbanism on the EDC Board. Congratulations Jack and thank you to Governor Chafee for making such a great appointment.
The State Senate official approved Jack’s and 3 other’s appointment to the EDC Board today.