Where’s Charlottesville going? Austin VS Aspen VS Arlington?

Are we a retirement community?
A playground for the wealthy?
A start-up hub?
Or the next Northern Virginia?

In the original conversation started almost a decade ago, the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) asked the question about the growth of Charlottesville, and the kinds of jobs and industries that should be promoted here. Are we a retirement community and a services based economy like Aspen, or is Charlottesville a leader in start-ups and entrepreneurial energy like Austin?

TTFF wants to check in on the conversation, with a provocative panel of leading academics, local businessmen, elected officials and planning officials, discussing: what makes a City ripe for start-ups? Are there downsides to growth? Are there downsides to not growing?

MODERATOR:

· Michael Lenox (Dir. Batten Institute at the Darden School) – prominent academic perspective regarding the cultural milieu of green tech and start-up ecosystems.


PANELISTS

· Dennis Rooker (Albemarle County Board of Supervisors) – investor in start-ups, also prominent skeptic toward growth in Albemarle County.


· Dan Rosensweig (City Planning Commission) – director of the Charlottesville chapter of Habitat for Humanity, concerned about workforce jobs and workforce housing.


· Gary Henry (Board Member of CBIC) – one originator of the Aspen Vs Austin conversation, consultant to start-ups.


Conversation hosted by:
CBIC