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BROADBAND COMMUNITIES
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www.broadbandcommunities.com
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Stratford Story
A small city in Ontario, Canada, punches above its weight
in the national economy. Much of its success comes from
intelligent use of world-class broadband.
By Robert Bell, John Jung and Louis Zacharilla / Intelligent Community Forum
"T
ake an extra $25. New York is an expensive
place."
Tose words of wisdom came from the
city council of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, in 1952. A
prominent citizen, journalist Tom Patterson, had come
before the council with a proposal. Patterson wanted
to travel, at the council's expense, to New York City
to convince legendary British director Tyrone Guthrie
to come to his city and found a summer Shakespeare
Festival in the park. Who could resist attending
Shakespeare in the park on the banks of the Avon River
in a town called Stratford?
Tose were hard times in Stratford. Its prosperity
had been built on agriculture and on serving as a repair
depot for the steam engines of the Canadian National
(CN) railway. Agriculture was still going strong – though
employing fewer people every year – but a decision by CN
management had centralized repair services somewhere
else on the line. No idea promoting the community's
survival was too crazy to consider. So, on January 22, the
council signed of on Patterson's brainstorm, giving him
$25 more than he had originally requested for the trip.
Patterson did meet with Guthrie – more than
once, as a matter of fact, which required more $125
disbursements. By July of the following year, the Stratford
Shakespeare Festival, under artistic director Guthrie,
presented its inaugural production of "Richard III,"
starring Alec Guinness, under a massive tent in the park.
Cultural tourism became a new industry in
Stratford. It was a homegrown economic development
solution and the frst sign of a new innovation ecosystem
in the making. But six decades would pass before the
next sign appeared.
During that time, the festival
thrived. By 2010, it was the largest
employer in the city and generated
C$135 million in local economic
activity and C$70 million in tax
revenue for all levels of government.
Stratford grew with it, reaching a
population of 32,000. However, the
festival, restaurants and lodging were
seasonal businesses that brought
prosperity only four months of the year.