Chattanooga Lands the Bug

Well not exactly "the Bug" but Volkswagen none the less. In an announcement a few weeks ago, Volkswagen announced that they had selected Chattanooga for their largest investment on American soil--a new Passat plant that could reach $1 billion. Now you cry, "what did Chattanooga do to land this big prize?' Short answer is lots of incentives on the front end. However VW made it clear that it was more than money. In fact the president used that often misconstrued word "values" to describe their decision. About twenty-five years ago Chattanooga had some of the worst air quality in the United States. After citations from EPA they set about cleaning up the air and in the process built a new future. They realized through a community process called Chattanooga Venture that there was more wrong in Chattanooga than just the air. They began to work on the river front, housing, education, and a range of things that make communities competitive and better places to live. They invested heavily in amenities like the freshwater aquarium, art museums, and a river walk. They got new restaurants, outlets, and a new national and international image. I wrote about Chattanooga in Smart Communities. But this is one of those stories that I say is not blind luck but strategic thinking by a lot of people for a long time. Chattanooga is a perfect example of a community that remade itself.