Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Lily Qi
Having lived in the National Capital region for 15 years and worked for two local governments on economic development and public policy, I have come to appreciate the need for serious collaboration across the boundary lines of our counties and state governments. It is essential, if we are to effectively deal with the area’s biggest problems, from transportation to housing, to workforce development. Our elected leaders, decision-makers and government bureaucrats have only to look about them, to the million immigrants in the national capital region, to see an example of how to connect across jurisdictional lines.
Every weekend, there are countless community events throughout the greater Washington area, many in ethnically diverse immigrant communities. You can find a Korean church service, an Indian American business conference, a Chinese spring choral concert or an Iranian Nowruz celebration. Events like those and countless more draw crowds on both sides of the Potomac River. Immigrants frequently travel across county and state lines to connect with their own ethnic communities, to worship, to learn, and to enjoy each others’ company, enhancing the vitality of our region.
The Washington Metropolitan area is one of the most transient locales in the country, with transplants and migrants redefining much of the local demographic landscape. In Montgomery County, where I live and work, three out of four residents are from other states. One in three is from other another country. Immigrants like me have no roots in a specific location and will pursue opportunities wherever they might be. Local political boundaries mean little to global partners and people arriving here to study, work, invest, and do business.
Since 1990, the Washington region’s immigrant population has doubled to about one million people, earning us the name “Edge Gateway”—a phrase used by theBrookings Institution to describe a region that’s relatively new to immigration, but has a sizable émigré population. Much of the immigrant workforce is composed of highly skilled professionals critical not only to the region’s economic vitality, but also our country’s leadership in information technology, life sciences, healthcare, defense, and cyber security, where a large supply of professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is needed.
It is no secret that the Asian community, which is three quarters foreign-born, is among the best educated. Our intellectual capital, entrepreneurial spirit and emphasis on education are tremendous assets to knowledge-based industries (and the reputation of many local school districts).
To continue attracting the best and the brightest, serious regional collaboration on affordable housing, transit, and workforce development is imperative. For long-term economic prosperity, our community leaders must support and advocate the kind of forward-looking initiatives and smart-growth projects that often require regional collaboration. Concurrently, policymakers must effectively engage the immigrant and ethnic minority communities in critical policy issues.
We are an interdependent collection of neighborhoods, cities and towns, counties, and state governments, no matter how we see ourselves as individuals. For example, a vibrant employment base in a neighboring community means greater opportunities for us, too, and an excellent school district in our community benefits the region’s overall economy. A rising tide lifts all boats, it is said. But only if the boats are all in the same waters.
Lily Qi can be reached at qulturematters@gmail.com or via her blog site atwww.qulturematters.com.
