Create Buzz in Hilltop

Living in Tacoma, you hear quite a bit about the city’s renaissance and redevelopment. And with the exception of the city’s civic and business leaders, who else really contributes to the process? We can all say that it’s the people that make this happen. And maybe that really is the case. But, how do the common people take this idea and push it even further? Is it up to the local residents, who wouldn’t ordinarily start businesses, start businesses? And if these businesses are successful, does that create enough buzz to gain some economic momentum and traction? Does that in turn make it an easier decision for big business to then come in and set up shop? And then what happens to the home grown businesses when the big companies come in to compete for the same local dollars? I guess I’m inadvertently running into the “Wal-Mart in a little town” quagmire. But in some sense, I think it applies to Tacoma and in a more personal way, Hilltop. How do we create a fine balance of supporting the local businesses while still keeping ourselves open to positive outside investment? Is this really a delicate balance that capitalism has addressed?