City Councilwoman-at-Large Blondell Reynolds Brown, chair of City Council’s Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and City Councilman-at-Large W. Wilson Goode, Jr., chair of the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, held a public hearing yesterday on Philadelphia’s non-profit and for-profit Creative Economy and how it impacts entrepreneurism, business development and the attraction and retention of young, educated professionals.
The hearing, according to City Council Resolution No. 080337, explored methods and strategies for how the City of Philadelphia can enhance the development of the creative industries and attract the young professional talent that will fuel Philadelphia’s economic growth.
“City Council must assume responsibility and understand this new, enormous opportunity known as the Creative Economy,” said Councilwoman Reynolds Brown. “This hearing will help establish how to attract and retain young professionals who are vital to the City’s growth.”
Many cities and regions are focusing on strengthening their creative industries as a means of economic growth. Philadelphia has a unique advantage of having the assets needed to successfully make its creative industries an economic anchor, much like the life sciences and hospitality industries.
Peggy Amsterdam, President of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, declared the creative economy is “already an asset to in our region.” She added region has a solid base in the creative economy but has room to grow.
The Cultural Alliance’s recently reported the cultural sector spends $1.3 billion annually. That spending generates 40,000 regional jobs and returns $58 million in taxes to state and local communities.
The for-profit, creative industry received much attention around its economic impact, its importance to the City, and its capability for future business growth.
“The purpose of my testimony this afternoon is three-fold,” said Kelly Lee, Executive Vice President of Innovation Philadelphia. “To validate the enormous impact of the for-profit, creative economy; to prove that it is growing industry and has the potential to have an even greater economic impact; and to demonstrate that the creative economy is a smart priority for economic investment by the City of Philadelphia. Such investment will offer economic benefits in the form of new jobs and new businesses and will attract the type of young professional talent, vital to economic growth.”
Following the testimony on the impact of the for-profit, creative industry – an annual economic impact of nearly $60 billion in total spending which includes $32.5 billion in total earnings and supports a total of 766,000 jobs – many examples, testimonies and potential solutions were developed to help grow the creative industry in Philadelphia.
Ideas such as creative industry business incentive taxes, similar to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s film tax incentive and examples such as other cities’ creative tax incentives, were offered as solutions for government to pave the way for businesses to be enticed to locate in Philadelphia.
Patricia Smith of The Reinvestment Fund highlighted the importance of creative neighborhoods as a means revitalizing neighborhoods and fostering creative businesses. “Zoning laws that will allow for dual creative live-work space opportunities or establishing zones, such as the Keystone Innovation Zones, for creative individuals will make Philadelphia an even more appealing city to start a creative business,” said Lee.
Through personal testimonies of creative industry entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial group leaders and other experts in the creative industry, Philadelphia City Council members received a broad spectrum of what the creative economy – both for-profit and non-profit – entrails and how this industry has become of the largest industry sectors in the Philadelphia Region.
Hearing Panelists included:
Importance of Creative Economy to Philadelphia
Duane Bumb, City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce
Economic Impact of Non-Profit Arts and Culture
Peggy Amsterdam, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Economic Impact of For-Profit Creative Industry
Kelly Lee, Innovation Philadelphia
Patricia Smith, The Reinvestment Fund
Mark Stern, The University of Pennsylvania Social Impacts on the Arts Project
Creative Industry Entrepreneurism in Philadelphia
Matthew Fisher, Night Kitchen Interactive
David Brown, Brown Partners
Hassan Charles, creative industry entrepreneur
Attraction and Retention of Young Professional Creative Talent
Sean Buffington, The University of the Arts
Blake Jennelle, Philly Start Up Leaders
Paul Wright, Mediaguide, Next Generation Branding Committee
“City Council is excited to hear from the creative community on how to best grow the City of Philadelphia’s creative economy,” said Councilman Goode. “We look forward to continuing our dialog with creative businesses owners and creative talent in the city to help our efforts in attracting and retaining young professionals.”
Taking action through a proactive approach that includes financial investment and coordinated regional planning, the for-profit, creative economy has the promise of skyrocketing this region’s economic growth and enhancing the region’s reputation as a creative and innovative destination.
The for-profit, creative economy holds enormous potential in forming a new identity for the Philadelphia Region. Such potential, made a reality, will offer economic benefits in the form of new jobs and new businesses and will increase the region’s competitiveness across the nation. This new identity will make the region a destination for all businesses thirsty for creative talent.
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