New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial, addressing the Cascadia Mayors Council meeting during The Annual Conference on Friday, June 9th, told the assembled mayors that the strength and vitality of urban areas was driving the U.S. economy.

The bi-national partnership of mayors from the Pacific Northwest includes delegates from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, all working on regional issues ranging from affordable housing to transit problems.

Host Mayor was Seattle Mayor Paul Schell who stressed that regional issues cut across state and international boundaries. Mayor Schell said that global warming was one such issue, noting that in the Pacific Northwest, a reduction in the snow pack could lead to water problems. He urged cities to take measures to reduce urban heat production.

Morial said The Conference of Mayors reports on U.S. Metro Economies, and the just released Third Annual Gross Metropolitan Report, were a new statistical measure to detail the economic strength of metropolitan areas.

Morial said the report proves that suburbs and cities do not operate separately and that their combined strength makes U.S. metro areas more powerful than many individual countries in the world.

Morial praised the Council for creating a dialogue which is essential to continued economic growth.

"The continued growth of the American economy is directly linked to the vitality of metropolitan areas and allows us to address such issues as parks, education and promote an investment agenda for America," Morial told the mayors.

Other speakers included Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute, Director of the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, and Cynthia Parker, Director of the Seattle Office of Housing.

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