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Economic Momentum

Complete

2021 was a year of opportunity and challenge in the Charleston region. Some businesses flourished while others struggled to survive due to uncertainty and ongoing disruption driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the decade leading up to 2020, the Charleston region experienced sustained population and job growth.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 400,000 employees across all sectors, a 30% increase from 2010
  2. 2 2.9% regional unemployment rate in September 2021, nearly recovered to pre-COVID unemployment
  3. 3 $19 median hourly wage in the Charleston Metro in May 2020
    4. Learn More
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Equity

Complete

The Charleston region thrives when all residents regardless of race, gender or other socioeconomic characteristic receive a high-quality education, obtain living wage jobs, live in housing they can afford, maintain good health, benefit the region’s economy, and enjoy the area’s place-based assets.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 28% minority residents live in Census tracts with a high social vulnerability index
  2. 2 2x Black residents are twice as likely to live below the Poverty level
  3. 3 19% decrease in low wage jobs in Charleston County in August 2021 compared to January 2020
    4. Learn More
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Affordability

Complete

Housing attainability is indisputably a top priority in the region – housing is the single greatest expenditure for nearly all households. Over the past year, the ongoing surge in new households combined with individual income losses and financial uncertainty renewed the sense of urgency around the need to meaningfully address housing attainability.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 89,600 estimated households experiencing housing cost burden in 2019; (30% of households)
  2. 2 $13 million emergency rental assistance granted to 2,500 households within Charleston and Berkeley counties
  3. 3 62% business survey respondents report affordability negatively impacts their ability to attract new hires
    4. Learn More
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Global Fluency

Complete

International trade inherently connects the Charleston region to the global marketplace. The region is home to over 180 foreign-owned businesses and nearly 42,000 foreign-born residents.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 180+ foreign-owned businesses operating in the region
  2. 2 42,000 regional residents born abroad, the largest share from Latin America or Central America
  3. 3 70% Port of Charleston imports and exports carry cargo between the region and Asian markets
    4. Learn More
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Infrastructure

Complete

A growing region and a lack of funding have increased the burden on our infrastructure over the past decade. In the middle of a national push to invest in modernizing the nation's infrastructure including broadband, interstates, bridges, and rapid transit - COVID-19 substantially changed infrastructure demand. More people than ever before are working and learning from home.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 80% regional workers primarily commute to work by car alone
  2. 2 7% increase in the share of commuters traveling more than 30 minutes to work between 2010 and 2019
  3. 3 6% regional workforce worked from home prior to the pandemic
    4. Learn More
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Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Complete

Innovation has never been more important than it is today. While there is little certainty in what the future will bring, one thing we can know for certain is that we cannot rely on actions of the past to bring us success long-term. Innovators and entrepreneurs in the Charleston region are the drivers of change and long-term prosperity.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 52% increase in knowledge based employment from 2010 to 2021
  2. 2 36% regional patent production occurred within priority clusters
  3. 3 50% existing jobs at risk of automation using presently available technologies
    4. Learn More
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Quality of Place

Complete

In the Charleston region historic walkable centers, newer suburban areas and rural communities combine with water-related natural and cultural resources of international recognition. This attracts tourists year-round and remains a strong selling point to new businesses, residents and retirees who visit the region.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 31% increase in home values in Downtown Charleston, home to many walkable neighborhoods
  2. 2 7% decline in households with a commute less than 30 minutes since 2010
  3. 3 73% survey respondents want to live near a park, green space, or natural area
    4. Learn More
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Talent

Complete

In a region rich with opportunity, developing, attracting and retaining talent are critical elements to sustaining growth long-term. Local talent development is realized in our public schools, workforce development programs, technical colleges and universities.

Quick Facts

  1. 1 36% regional population over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher
  2. 2 8,400 college graduates in 2020 across the region
  3. 3 7% decline in the labor force participation rate from 2010 to 2020
    4. Learn More

Your voice matters!

We spent the past year engaging with residents and businesses in our region. Now is the time to develop a strategic action plan that addresses the challenges and opportunities we heard from you in surveys, community meetings, and One Region Roadmap focus groups.

We want to hear what strategies you think the Charleston region should prioritize to strengthen our economy and produce opportunities for all. One Region Roadmap is framed around six action areas and two core themes of equity and economic momentum.

Please explore the Eight Regional Dynamics. Each individual topic area has a button to learn more, and a section to rank strategies. The site can be navigated in five minutes.

Click on any of the dynamics below to begin.

Click on any of the dynamics to the left to begin.

Economic Momentum

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Create a coalition of regulatory authorities and economic development entities to identify zones for sustainable development.

Focus regional economic development efforts on development zones consistent with infrastructure availability and land use strategy.

Create an automotive research center focusing on e-mobility.

Develop an Innovation District with cutting edge spaces for life sciences and information technology

Support first-time entrepreneurs with essential business launch services.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for economic momentum is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Equity

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Fund a regional Officer to advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within government policies and initiatives.

Create an equity data dashboard with annual performance metrics to measure progress on improving racial equity.

Create a regional minority and women-owned business enterprise registry.

Identify collaborative goals for increasing local minority- and women-owned business participation on county and regional government contracts.

Conduct an annual equity summit led by a regional collaborative to discuss how the region can advance more equitable practices.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for equity is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Affordability

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Pursue opportunities to expand funding for the renovation and preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing.

Champion the inclusion of 20% affordable housing within a quarter mile of premium transit stations.

Promote zoning overlays in areas around employment centers that allow for denser housing types and streamlined permitting.

Create a regional housing coalition to champion policy around, and the development of, affordable housing.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for affordability is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Global Fluency

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Create a resource center for international residents that connects people to programs, events, and initiatives to exchange cultures and ideas.

Increase the number of international flights to targeted business destinations.

Create a volunteer corps of ambassadors willing to connect with new foreign nationals in the region

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for global fluency is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Infrastructure

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Develop a regional broadband council to coordinate existing pilot programs and initiatives to increase broadband coverage.

Work with broadband providers to ensure total geographic coverage for high-speed broadband throughout the region.

Create a coordinated network of publicly-available broadband locations through partnerships with libraries, schools, hospitals, businesses and government entities.

Encourage government entities to adopt "dig once" policies to reduce the cost of broadband expansion.

Coordinate capital improvement planning across regional, county and local governments to align regional infrastructure investments.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for infrastructure is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Create and market an innovation brand that ties together innovation activity occurring throughout the region.

Form a regional technology council to better connect entrepreneurs and opportunities in information technology.

Develop a new entrepreneurship center to support start-up businesses.

Create an investment fund for minority-owned businesses.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Talent

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Support the continuation of making technical college free for Charleston region residents advancing their education in high-demand fields.

Build upon existing programs to help grow the Black and Latinx community in tech.

Establish a co-teaching program that enables industry professionals to assist K-12 teachers with STEM curriculum.

Convene a workforce training task force to improve connections between educational institutions, workforce training providers and regional employers.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for talent is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)

Quality of Place

Rank your top strategies!
(select a minimum of three)

Establish a regional data dashboard to evaluate consistency between development patterns and regional planning goals.

Develop a regional watershed approach to open space preservation and the use of natural systems in flood and drainage management.

Initiate a land preservation and acquisition program to support the long-term retention of open space, critical habitats and systems that support resiliency throughout the region.

Drag and drop your priorities here in order of importance to you

Drag and drop your priorities in order of importance to you.

Your top strategy for quality of place is:

Does this strategy positively impact your...? (check all that apply)



Does this strategy positively impact...? (check all that apply)