Olean has always been one of the most beautiful small cities in America. Recently, it has been "hollowed-out". Nationwide, walkable streetscape projects have been shown to be reliable spurs for renaissance.

Chris Leinberger made his fortune building suburbs and then he did the math.

Now with the Brookings Institute, this economist says "all the fancy economic development strategies such as developing a biomedical cluster, an aerospace cluster, or whatever the current economic development 'flavor of the month' might be, do not hold a candle to the power of great walkable urban place."

Walkable Olean was brought forward by Olean's large employers as an economic development solution. It has been funded by Empire State Development and prioritized by the Regional Economic Development Council.

These attachments provide the presentation overview plus the original document.