Business View Magazine - July 2016 67
world. “The University has over 45,000 students,”
says Tyler, “it’s growing and it’s become quite a pow-
erhouse, internationally. We have a lot of internation-
al students, here.”
Then there’s the city, itself: “We’re progressive, we’re
innovative, we have a young, diverse population,”
Tyler proclaims. “Urbana is a very progressive com-
munity with a very progressive government and an
extremely engaged population” she continues. “We
have great neighborhoods that are walkable, with
good streets and a diversity of housing types and
styles. There are neighborhood schools and neighbor-
hood parks throughout, a lot of churches, a lot of com-
munity gathering places. We have a lot of programs in
sustainability and open governance. And there’s the
international connection. It’s a very comfortable, lively,
interesting place to be.”
But even an oasis such as Urbana needs tending to
and Tyler’s Office of Community Development Services
is responsible for the city’s many infrastructure and
development projects, all designed to spur economic
activity while addressing the community’s social con-
cerns and cultural pursuits. Tyler talks about one of
the city’s recent projects that has combined all of
those aspects: “Last year, we opened a beautification
project along our urban creek, which was previously
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Urbana, Illinois
WHAT:
A city of 41,000
WHERE:
The county seat of Champaign County in
east central Illinois
WEBSITE
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