University Professor Carl Schramm delivered a seminar last week at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.
Invited as part of the Council’s roundtable speaker series on entrepreneurial cities in a globalized economy, Schramm’s talk was entitled Can Declining Cities Come Back?
Schramm drew on his study of the forces at work in the decline of 25 U.S. cities to address whether and how these forces might be reversed. He discussed how technology has reduced the hold of cities on their populations, and the impact of federal initiatives that have stepped in where local governments traditionally operated.
In his talk, Schramm argues that a “new national urban policy is required for economic growth,” noting that some cities are recognized as not being able to achieve self-sufficiency and can no longer be expected to grow or even sustain their past levels of population. Schramm believes that the reality of declining cities will lead to historic changes the relationships between federal and local governments.
At Syracuse, Schramm has taught courses in entrepreneurship and innovation, and the decline and future of U.S. cities.
He was appointed University Professor in 2012, after serving for nearly a decade as president of the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s premier organization dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurship and understanding the role innovation and new firm formation play in economic growth.
Schramm’s research work focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. He has advised major corporations as well as city, state and national governments around the world on accelerating innovation, expanding entrepreneurial activity and achieving economic growth.