Our Towns: Greenville, South Carolina STEAMs Ahead

This is the second in a series of blogs about the adventures of James and Deborah’s 100,000 mile journey by plane (their single-engine Cirrus plane) and car to explore small towns and cities at various stages of decline and redevelopment.

This is not your typical travelogue as they investigate in each community the state of the economy by talking to mayors and community leaders, as well as visiting the local library, newspaper, parks and pathways to see what makes the community tick.  

Along the way, they make some amazing discoveries about city and towns that don’t get much, if any, media attention. For example, new public art is a common denominator in the rise of the downtown in many of the cities and towns they visited on their 100,000 mile journey.

The Fallows learned in Greenville and several other cities and towns the importance of striving to become an education mecca is one of the keys to economic transformation of most cities.  They also learned that the transformation doesn’t happen overnight, rather it requires a purposeful and organic process for over several decades.  

Greenville, South Carolina (population 70,635)

For much of the 20th century, the Greenville area was one of the world’s major textile-producing hubs as a result of its easy access to cotton and some of the first water-powered mills.  However, starting in the 60s, recognizing the decline in the textile industry, “new business recruitment became a statewide effort” resulting in General Electric opening a plant in the ‘60s and Michelin in the ‘70s. (Michelin’s North American headquarters is now in Greenville). Other auto-parts makers followed with BMW building a major auto-assembly plant in the early ‘90s.  

Part of retooling the city, was the vision of creating the best downtown in America.  Over and over again, the Fallows observed having a vibrant downtown is critical to economic transformation. In 2013, Greenville mayor Knox White (no relation) and local writer John Boyanoksi published a book titled “Reimagining Greenville: Building the Best Downtown in America.”  

Greenville’s plan reads like a checklist from the modern North American urban planning bible:

• Narrow the city’s main shopping street.

• Discourage driving. Encourage strolling.

• Broaden the sidewalks and add trees.

• Redevelopment guided by city professionals - city planners, economic development officers.

• Build sports facilities near downtown. 

• Build new residential; convert old buildings to residential. 

• Capitalize on waterfront opportunities, walking/cycling pathways.

• Add public art.

In chatting with one of Greenville’s leading art champions, the Fallows learned “public art lets the world know there is a community in South Carolina that values the human soul.”

In Greenville they also discovered the important role schools play in economic transformation -and not just post-secondary schools.  The Fallows share the amazing story of “The Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities,” a public school specializing in the arts of all genres, calling the school complex – “stunning.” 

They also were impressed with the A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering which opened in 2010.  

It is located at the edge of downtown, next to the huge Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centre in a depressed community.

The school, supported by 30+ corporate partners in the community - from Duke Energy to Jacobs Engineering – with engineering is incorporated into every available part of the traditional curriculum.  

Many Whittenberg graduates go to the Phinneze J. Fisher Middle School with its STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and mathematics). Community leaders recognize there is an important synergy between the arts, science and engineering – something many communities don’t see. 

The Fallows share the story of how The Iron Yard’s co-founder and CEO, Peter Barth, who grew up in Florida and had worked in New York and the Midwest, was planning to work in Charlotte.  He stopped in Greenville for lunch, walked through its vibrant downtown and decided this was where he wanted to stay.

The Iron Yard’s business model is to create a “code academy” that charges $10,000 for a three-month session (full refund if a graduate doesn’t get an appropriate job).  Iron Yard Ventures as sister company invested in 62-early stage technology companies and helped foster start-ups like ChartSpan (the largest, service provider of chronic care management programs in the United States) in 2011.  

Note: Iron Yard ceased all operations, at all campuses after students completed their summer programs in 2017.    

Though Greenville is an extremely conservative city with a business-first mentality, many times during the Fallow’s visit they heard how important “public-private” partnerships are in making the downtown and city come alive. 

Last Word

The Fallows learned in Greenville and several other cities and towns the importance of striving to become an education mecca is one of the keys to economic transformation of most cities.  They also learned that the transformation doesn’t happen overnight, rather it requires a purposeful and organic process for over several decades.  

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Stuart McLean’s Travel In Small Towns

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