Patrick McMahon, BDL

Policy leaders and practitioners throughout the northeast are grappling with an aging transportation infrastructure, as well as demographic changes that demand more mass-transit opportunities.  The health of the northeast economy going into the future will be tied to decisions made today.  How do we ensure safe highways and bridges?  How do we encourage more rail and bus options to transport the workforce?  Where is all the funding going to come from to pay for a backlog of needed infrastructure improvements?  How should economic development professionals work with state DOTs, municipalities and regional planning agencies to further a pro-growth agenda?   How do communities capitalize on transit oriented development?  What are future technologies that we need to plan for today?  These questions and much more will be examined at the 60^th Annual NEDA Conference in New Haven.  The conference will take place at the Omni Hotel from September 11-13 with the theme “Transportation at the Crossroads:  The Economic Developer’s Road Map.”   

Over the past several years, the annual NEDA conference has earned a reputation for designing engaging, learner-focused sessions that offer cutting-edge information and best practices… and the 2016 conference will push that bar even higher. After reviewing over 30 proposals for educational sessions, the programs committee has selected sessions on a range of topics including:  bus rapid transit, transit oriented development (TOD), autonomous and electric vehicles, moving cargo, airports as economic development engines, transporting the workforce, trails development, entrepreneurship, place-making, converting  the use of older shopping centers, using data for determining economic development decisions, innovative financing for clean energy improvements, and building smart communities.

Robert Leaver, NEDA

In addition to the onsite sessions, NEDA will use the city of New Haven as a learning lab to explore: 

• Why cycling and pedestrian improvements have been key to New Haven’s resurgence?

• How redevelopment of the New Haven Coliseum site is leading economic growth in the city?

• Why Union Station (Amtrak Train Station) has played a critical role in quality of life?

• What it means for New Haven to be the home of the New Alexion Global Headquarters?

Congressman Bill Shuster, chairman of the house transportation and infrastructure committee, will be a keynote speaker. Parris Glendening, former governor of Maryland, will present to discuss smart growth development. Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy is also scheduled to speak about his “Let’s Go Connecticut” campaign which represents a 30-year, $100 billion vision for a best in class transportation system. 

There are sponsorship opportunities for the conference that provide great exposure for organizations looking to engage with 200-250 economic and community development professionals from Maine to Maryland.  United Illuminated, a New Haven, Connecticut-based regional electric distribution company established in 1899, has agreed to be a Titanium level sponsor.   The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and Comcast are also titanium sponsors.  Additional sponsors to date include:  the Connecticut Airport Authority, MetroHartford Alliance, HRP, Fuss & O’Neill, CHA Consulting, US Sourcelink, Webster Bank, South Central CT Regional Water Authority, Bradley Development League, New England Real Estate Journal, Hartford Business Journal, Goman & York,  Milone & MacBroom, O&G Industries, VHB, Connecticut Economic Resource Center, City of New Haven, REX Development, Camoin Associates, EMSI, Convergent, Northern Border Regional Commission, Bankwell Bank  and Pullman & Comley.   The earlier a sponsor commits the more exposure NEDA can provide them through the conference website and ongoing digital media promotions

Conference attendees will be able to utilize a new and innovative conference application for their smartphone called CrowdCompass. They will be able to get live-time updates on the conference happenings, download resources provided by session leaders, and communicate with fellow conference attendees during and after the conference.  (#NEDANewHaven )

New Haven is a great location for this conference.  The Omni is in walking distance of the Yale campus and many other cultural attractions.  Attendees can opt to drive to the conference or take the train to Union Station.  Here is a great intro video prepared by the City of New Haven: http://www.nedaonline.org/#!2016-conference/jppya

Please plan on joining us in New Haven for this important professional development and networking opportunity.   For more information please visit - http://www.nedaonline.org/.

Patrick McMahon and Robert Leaver are co-chairs of NEDA, Liverpool, N.Y.