About the Initiative
One Coast, One Future seeks to spark new and renewed growth through cooperative, yet locationally appropriate efforts. The goal is to stimulate economic growth, job creation and individual economic opportunity by linking the Coastal Fairfield County region’s business centers in a new and stronger alliance for their mutual benefit.

One Coast, One Future is a consortium formed by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and The Business Council of Fairfield County in cooperation with the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce. The work of the consortium was funded from September 20, 2005 to March 1, 2010.

The interdependency of Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk is based upon infrastructure, commutation patterns, housing cost differentials, employment trends, communications, Long Island Sound coastal locations, and shared health care providers, higher education institutions, and transportation services. The combined region is statistically among the wealthiest in the country.

Today, we see that thirty years of economic growth in Stamford has come to a virtual halt in the face of structural issues that must be addressed, while the perennially struggling city of Bridgeport is increasingly recognized as having great potential and is gradually building momentum for sustained economic growth. Norwalk, the third largest city in the region, has   developed a strong retail sector and a rapidly developing corporate office building sector, yet faces many of the same issues facing Stamford and Bridgeport. 

One Coast, One Future Economic Activities
One Coast's long-term plan consists of eight key objectives.

Four of those objectives were managed by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and include:

• a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy;

• the development of a marketing campaign focused on development and housing opportunities;

• the development of a marketing campaign focused on cultural and entertainment opportunities;

• and encouraging the growth of minority and women-focused business development groups. 

The Business Council of Fairfield County managed four additional objectives including:

• the creation of a growth strategy for jobs in HEALTH CARE;

• a linkage of employer needs with available employee skills through a JOBSNET program;

• enhancing the quality of the region's workforce through the improvement and expansion of services from local colleges and universities through the establishment of a HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL;

• and the creation of a WI-FI NETWORK in city centers
   

This project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA's funding should not be construed as an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA-funded projects are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.