I was a very excited and grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Leadership Exchange (LEX) San Diego. The city of San Diego was compelling for a number of reasons. For instance, its size. The San Diego metro area is almost identical to Denver with both home to around 3 million people. However, the city of San Diego itself is the eighth most populous city in the U.S. and San Diego county the fifth most populous county. This contrast was clear throughout our visit: San Diego faces more complex urban issues than Denver. With median home prices $200,000 more than the prices in Denver and median income 10 percent lower, the affordability index is much grimmer. Homelessness is more prevalent and traffic congestion is worse. Yet, the city seemed to be concurrently thriving in many ways due, in part, to its creative approaches to challenges and economic development.
A strong life sciences sector serves as the cornerstone of an increasingly diversified economy. What they lack in an airport they make up for with partnerships with the military. San Diegans may even embrace regionalism more than Denver does. They have developed an enormous economic region and have effectively learned to work bilaterally with Mexico and the city of Tijuana.
There is much that I will take away from the trip. The Monarch School was a terrific visit and it was a testament to the generosity of the city. I was intrigued by the organizational makeup and how it is forced to be both a nonprofit and a school. It also showed that when there is a real need, communities can work together to find a solution. I am not sure if opening a school like Monarch in Denver is the solution, but I do know that we should always being doing more for our homeless community and especially our homeless children. I also know that the students and families at the school are benefitting immensely from the services provided.
I was very impressed by what I saw at Qualcomm R&D. We were able to sit in on a demonstration of a 5G-enabled vehicle. We also saw a highly efficient laptop that uses a fraction of the energy of our current devices. Both of these technological advancements gave me hope for the future and the drive towards more sustainable and smarter cities. Technological innovations are continuing to disrupt traditional urban ecosystems, and cities require knowhow and agility in order to maximize the impact of these developments. We saw some recent struggles in Denver with the release of electric scooters.
The Salk Institute was also a reminder of the importance of art. Within the monolithic confines of the institute some of the most important and advanced research in the world takes place daily. Their work is honored by the entirely unique vision and investment into design. Denver is often criticized for the lack of that same attention to design that will stand the test of time with recent residential development, and we need to a better job of incorporating more art in the design of our city.
I was also grateful to have the time with so many brilliant individuals. Each connection I made was valuable, and I am reminded of how lucky we are in Denver to have so many amazing leaders.
Thank you to the wonderful people at the Denver Metro Chamber and the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation for making this trip possible and for all your hard work in making it a success.
Adeeb Khan is the director of corporate social responsibility for TIAA and serves as a member of the Leadership Foundation’s board of directors.