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Survey for Aguila Constituents
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Research has shown that the way to expand neighborhoods is not just through the creation of more office space, but with development from the ground up, with arts, technology, and culture as a base. Among a creative economy’s (creative-based economic clusters that attract dynamic and diverse pools of workers) greatest strengths is the ability to attract other businesses and jump-start neighborhood development. Arts and culture do this by giving local economies a sense of soul. And this is everything, given that “knowledge workers” and “cultural creatives”—-an influential group that runs from playwrights and museum curators to software designers and financial analysts—-demand vibrant and dynamic settings in which they can work, live and create. Economic development and the digital divide go hand-in-hand for many reasons. Communities with the tools and skills to compete in the digital economy are at a distinct advantage over communities that don't. In many ways, the situation in a given community can build upon itself, for better or for worse. A community with a well-educated, technology-literate population is more likely to attract and sustain new businesses, and these new businesses in turn attract more well-educated, technology-literate people into the area. Conversely, a community that lacks reliable access to technology and the skills to use it is less likely to attract and sustain new businesses that could potentially serve as a catalyst to economic prosperity. Simply put, if communities are to remain competitive in attracting, retaining and developing businesses in today's economy, they must develop modern telecommunications facilities and cultivate a well-trained workforce to stay viable.
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Vision We envision building a center in the South Bronx that educates, supports, and promotes area Artists, Creative Producers, and Micro Business Owners via a business and technology incubation program, combined with organized network events, exhibition and trade show opportunities, promotional opportunities, and cross-region collaboration with other incubation/business development organization. We envision five main foci for the center: - 1) an advanced technology center to be used for Research and Development to support technology efforts by area businesses (software and internet firms), artists (graphic, internet, new media artists) and Creative Producers (a visual studio for animation/movie effects producers),
- 2) a physical office-environment to support micro-business development via incubation and consulting, especially oriented towards businesses that aim to take advantage of the Research and Development facility as part of their business plan,
- 3) a virtual web-environment to support fledgling efforts by micro-businesses, artisans, and artists to sell, promote, inform, educate online,
- 4) education, provide educational opportunities in technology (both business and creative) and business to area residents as well as attracting people from surrounding areas.
- 5) and a physical gallery space to provide opportunities for exhibitions and presentations (especially technology based), such as artwork and movies, and to serve as a conference/seminar space for businesses either incubated or without access to other such space in New York City.
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