OKC explores lessons from Milwaukee

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber took a delegation of 71 of its members and other community leaders to Milwaukee on Aug. 24-26 for the Chamber’s 15th InterCity Visit. Since 2005, this benchmarking trip has served as a fact-finding mission to learn best-practices that those in attendance can bring back to Oklahoma City.

When considering cities to visit and learn from, Milwaukee might not be at the top of your list but that would be a mistake. Although the two cities differ geographically and politically, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee are working to solve some of the same social and economic issues such as homelessness, racial inequalities, education reform, innovation, visitor experience and city development. And with Milwaukee further along in the process in addressing these areas, the opportunity to learn from its leaders was invaluable.

“Getting out of our city and diving into another community opens our eyes to not only the possibilities we can create back home, but also to the impact we as a community are already making,” said Sean Trauschke, OGE Energy Corp., chair of the Chamber. “The time these leaders take is critical as we identify what’s next for Oklahoma City’s progress.”

Milwaukee Bucks' Fiserv Forum arena

Following Mayor Holt’s announcement last month that it’s time for a new arena, the group received an in-depth look at the Milwaukee Bucks’ Fiserv Forum arena. Attendees were impressed by the amenities including the comfortable seats, the open concourses which engage people even while they grab food, and the space available to connect more people to services and amenities. Oklahoma City’s new arena is an opportunity to continue growing the downtown core as a destination for sports, entertainment and other events.

The second day of the trip included a discussion on the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives Milwaukee is collaborating on. Nancy Hernandez, president of the Hispanic Collaborative, said they are “moving at the speed of trust,” which significantly resonated with the group. The leadership capacity that Milwaukee has to drive the conversation and create change was evident as the panelists spoke about the detailed qualitative and quantitative data they use to measure their success.

“Our two communities are demographically different but the opportunities for change and improvement are the same,” said Rhonda Hooper, Jordan Advertising, vice chair of business and economic inclusion. “The progress they’ve achieved highlights the need for us to be intentional and goal-oriented as we continue this work in Oklahoma City.”

Learning from the activation of Milwaukee’s waterfront, the delegation began thinking about the opportunities Oklahoma City’s river has to offer. The Boathouse District and the coming OKANA Resort are great amenities to attract people, but Milwaukee showcased there are other ways the city could draw residents and visitors to the area. With the addition of residential and commercial developments, the river could transform into a vibrant and welcoming space to live, work and play.

Chamber members and other OKC community leaders discuss visitor development with Milwaukee leaders inside the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

The final day brought discussions on homelessness and affordable housing. Milwaukee’s housing-first homeless initiative is a shift in mindset from the traditional model and they have seen a 92% reduction in their unsheltered homeless population, allowing them to provide housing almost as soon as an individual becomes homeless. The work Milwaukee is doing creates a blueprint we can follow to provide the most basic resources first, then offering other needed resources such as mental health and addiction services.

The final discussions centered around education reform and Milwaukee’s journey with parent-choice vouchers. While many believe this is the panacea for the issues our schools face, hearing the challenges and results from the Milwaukee leaders validated for many in attendance that our schools are on a great path forward. Oklahoma City has great leadership who are working hard to serve all students and transform it into a district of choice.

With less than 48 hours to pack in as much learning as possible, those in attendance left with many ideas but also optimism that Oklahoma City is making moves towards an even greater future for all who call it home.

Special thanks to Presenting Sponsor Mason Realty Investors, LLC.

This story originally appeared in the September 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.