money, smarts and innovation haven’t always been enough to trump the “stiff challenges” to economic development

In terms of attracting business, Montgomery County has a list of enviable stats to trumpet: One-sixth of Maryland’s population lives there. It is one of the top 10 wealthiest counties in the country with the highest concentration of Ph.D.s in the nation. And it’s home to one-half of the state’s bio-tech firms.
But money, smarts and innovation haven’t always been enough to trump the “stiff challenges” to economic development, said Lily Qi, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer. Jobs lost in the recession paid more than the jobs gained in the recovery, and while the county is “big on innovation, we are not big on entrepreneurship. We are big on selling to the government,” she said.
Indeed, the county has a perception of a “giant suburb” with no walkability, high prices, and worse in this day and age of attracting and retaining young workers — “no cool,” she said...

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