HISTORY OF THE INTER-CITY VISIT
In 1985 the Public Private Partnership (PPP), a group of engaged community leaders, organized our community’s first intercity visit to Lexington, Kentucky. The creation of the PPP and the intercity visit were spurred by a visit from Lexington’s community leadership in 1984 and Lexington’s invitation for a reciprocal visit.
Since that first trip to Lexington, our community has traveled to several other college communities including Boulder, CO (University of Colorado); Princeton, NJ (Princeton University); Charlotte, NC (UNC Charlotte); Champaign-Urbana, IL (University of Illinois); Ann Arbor, MI (University of Michigan); Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin - Madison); and Asheville, NC (UNC Asheville). Our most recent trip was to Bloomington, IN (Indiana University) in 2012.
Since that first trip to Lexington, our community has traveled to several other college communities including Boulder, CO (University of Colorado); Princeton, NJ (Princeton University); Charlotte, NC (UNC Charlotte); Champaign-Urbana, IL (University of Illinois); Ann Arbor, MI (University of Michigan); Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin - Madison); and Asheville, NC (UNC Asheville). Our most recent trip was to Bloomington, IN (Indiana University) in 2012.
WHY WE TRAVEL
Through the bi-annual Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference, our Chamber’s charitable Partnership for a Sustainable Community convenes leaders of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community to:
- Learn from the experiences of another community
- Better understand our community’s assets
- Build relationships among participants that help us successfully address our local challenges and opportunities
WHAT WE LEARNED ON PREVIOUS INTER-CITY VISITS
Many of our community institutions and practices - including the list below - owe their beginnings to previous Inter-City Visits. Here are a few that participants of previous visits have identified:
Previous participants report that while they learned a lot about the communities they visited and brought back some good ideas, they also benefited greatly from the relationships and partnerships built among community leaders on the trip.
- The public financing of Carrboro's 300 East Main parking deck
- Downtown Chapel Hill LED lighting
- Downtown homeless outreach workers
- Culture shock
- The creation of the Chapel Hill Community Design Commission
- The renovation of Memorial Hall
- The plan to create the University's Arts Common
- The creation of a Chapel Hill downtown service district tax
- The creation of the original Chapel Hill-Carrboro Downtown Commission (though it operated as the Chapel Hill Downtown Commission)
- The creation of our community land trust
- The creation of the now retired Chapel Hill Transit trolleys
Previous participants report that while they learned a lot about the communities they visited and brought back some good ideas, they also benefited greatly from the relationships and partnerships built among community leaders on the trip.
ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY
In 2012, our Chamber launched the Partnership for a Sustainable Community, a 501(c)(3). The Partnership applies business leadership to solve community problems and create opportunities. The Partnership:
The Partnership's Program of Work
- Serves and strengthens mission driven organizations,
- Develops and convenes community leaders, and
- Improves the ecosystem of support for community problem solvers.
The Partnership's Program of Work
- Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference
- Leadership Chapel Hill-Carrboro
- Executive Leadership
- NC Fourth Sector Cluster Initiative
- State of the Community Report