斯波坎市市长丽莎·布朗 (Lisa Brown) 公布了创新中心和技术驱动的经济未来的愿景

Mayor Lisa Brown, who took office in January after a closely contested race, has a diverse background, including positions in academia, state government, and the Washington State Department of Commerce. She spoke with GeekWire about the future of Spokane’s innovation economy and its designation as a Tech Hub by the Biden-Harris administration. Brown’s focus on regional economic development stems from her belief that higher education and good job opportunities are crucial to helping the economically struggling residents of Spokane. She sees tech as a key component of the region’s economy and envisions it playing a central role in its growth and diversification.

丽莎·布朗 (Lisa Brown) 市长在一场激烈的竞选后于 1 月上任，她拥有多元化的背景，包括在学术界、州政府和华盛顿州商务部担任职务。她与 GeekWire 谈论了斯波坎创新经济的未来以及拜登-哈里斯政府将其指定为科技中心的情况。布朗对地区经济发展的关注源于她的信念，即高等教育和良好的就业机会对于帮助经济困难的斯波坎居民至关重要。她认为科技是该地区经济的关键组成部分，并预计科技将在该地区的增长和多元化中发挥核心作用。

Brown highlights the significance of tech in various sectors of Spokane’s economy, such as aerospace, health sciences, and sustainable building. She points to the city’s quality of life and outdoor recreational opportunities as factors that attract tech workers to Spokane. Brown emphasizes the importance of collaboration and breaking down silos among higher education institutions to differentiate Spokane as a Tech Hub and meet workforce development needs. She acknowledges that workforce development, infrastructure, and environmental certifications are among the challenges in building Spokane’s innovation economy.

布朗强调了科技在航空航天、健康科学和可持续建筑等斯波坎经济各个领域的重要性。她指出，这座城市的生活质量和户外休闲机会是吸引科技工作者来到斯波坎的因素。布朗强调高等教育机构之间合作和打破孤岛的重要性，以使斯波坎成为技术中心并满足劳动力发展需求。她承认，劳动力发展、基础设施和环境认证是建设斯波坎创新经济的挑战之一。

To encourage graduating students to stay in Spokane, Brown emphasizes the importance of a vibrant downtown, creative economy, arts, and culture. She mentions the city’s natural environment, outdoor recreation opportunities, and affordable housing as key factors in retaining young talent and families in Spokane. Brown discusses efforts to enhance bike-pedestrian infrastructure and connectivity in Spokane to make the city more appealing to young people. She believes that investing in areas like health sciences, clean energy, and building sustainability could be significant for the region’s future economic growth.

为了鼓励毕业生留在斯波坎，布朗强调了充满活力的市中心、创意经济、艺术和文化的重要性。她提到该市的自然环境、户外休闲机会和经济适用房是斯波坎留住年轻人才和家庭的关键因素。布朗讨论了加强斯波坎自行车行人基础设施和连通性的努力，以使这座城市对年轻人更具吸引力。她认为，投资于健康科学、清洁能源和建筑可持续发展等领域可能对该地区未来的经济增长具有重要意义。

Despite the dispersion of bets on different sectors in Spokane, Brown sees potential in focusing on health sciences, innovation in clean energy, and building sustainability. She acknowledges that while there may be risks in spreading resources across multiple sectors, doubling down on health sciences and exploring new areas like clean energy and sustainability could lead to long-term economic benefits. Brown believes partnerships with private and research sectors will be critical in driving innovation in these areas. She sees Spokane’s slower-paced growth as an advantage, allowing the city more time to address affordability and quality-of-life issues before they become unmanageable.

尽管斯波坎对不同行业的投资分散，但布朗看到了专注于健康科学、清洁能源创新和建设可持续发展的潜力。她承认，虽然在多个部门分散资源可能存在风险，但加倍投入健康科学并探索清洁能源和可持续发展等新领域可能会带来长期经济效益。布朗认为，与私营部门和研究部门的合作对于推动这些领域的创新至关重要。她认为斯波坎较慢的增长速度是一个优势，可以让该市有更多的时间来解决负担能力和生活质量问题，以免它们变得难以管理。