Upstate New Yorkers care about their region's economy, but also about education and the environment. They favor property tax caps and school mergers, and are wary of natural gas drilling.

Those were some of the conclusions of a study by Cornell's Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI) that were revealed June 8 at the State of Upstate New York Conference: Resiliency, Partnerships and Innovation at the Doubletree Hotel in Syracuse, N.Y.

Some 150 civic leaders, community activists and academics gathered for the two-day event, which featured more than 40 speakers and panelists covering nine themes ranging from poverty to health care.

Its purpose, according to CaRDI director David Brown, was to review empirical data included in the report, take stock of the region's assets and resources, collectively address challenges and develop strategies.

The changing population profile of upstate New York has fundamentally influenced many key issues, such as health care, schools, land use and employment, said Brown, chair of the Department of Development Sociology.

What was once a population pyramid with a wide base of youth narrowing to a small number of elders now resembles a rectangle, thanks to low fertility rates and an aging baby boom population that is living longer.

But demography is not destiny, Brown said, and he challenged participants to use the data to turn obstacles into opportunities.

Margaret Bryant, assistant professor of landscape architecture at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, highlighted one benefit of the region's sluggish physical development: well-preserved natural resources and rural character.

Susan Riha, Cornell professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and director of the New York State Water Resources Institute, said the area's abundant water supply could potentially be tapped for use in energy generation or exported to other areas of the United States.

Many speakers praised the innovation and resourcefulness of upstate residents in the face of austerity.

Susan Christopherson, Cornell professor of city and regional planning, said this should be harnessed to create a manufacturing renaissance, particularly in green industries and emerging technologies.

Former state agriculture commissioner Nathan Rudgers '82 said the manufacturing renaissance should also include agriculture. He cited research presented earlier by Cornell agricultural economist Todd Schmit that indicated each food-processing job results in four additional jobs in the community.

"It's also important because it's an industry that supports land-based enterprises, and land-based enterprises do not leave," Rudgers said. He warned that growth was being hindered by regulations, however, and suggested that government "get out of its own way."

"It's counterproductive to provide outsized incentives to companies to compensate for outsized regulations," Rudgers added.

In remarks that opened the conference, Cornell Senior Vice Provost Ron Seeber said that universities are vital to the economic development of the communities where they are located because of the research they produce and the jobs they provide, but that the relationship was reciprocal.

"Cornell cannot exist as an island," Seeber said. "We cannot do well unless the region can do well."

As New York's land-grant institution, Cornell takes community engagement seriously, and much of the university's research is done in response to needs identified by the public, he added.

"We get involved in economic development because it furthers our scholarship, our teaching and our own development as an institution," Seeber said.

Brown said he expects future conferences -- to be held every other year -- will focus on individual issues.

Stacey Shackford is a staff writer at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.