The first Greater Richmond Challenge, organized by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, could have been a one-cylinder event, another feel-good function that brought citizens together to talk for a day before going back to their lives. Fortunately, so far, that hasn't been the case. Many of the 100+ participants in the two-day exploration of the issues of affordable housing, transportation, crime and safety, education and workforce development are still meeting, and the Chamber has just issued the Greater Richmond Challenge Final Report, collecting the findings from the two-day session.
In several weeks, the Richmond Times-Dispatch will hold a Public Square, town hall-style event to discuss the issue of affordable housing (with plans for the other four topics explored in the Challenge to be covered in future Public Square events). And the Chamber meets with some of the participants tomorrow to begin planning for next year's event. Traction is a good thing.
