FOREWARD

Rural municipalities must compete to attract and retain skilled people who can choose to live anywhere. When they choose a community, employers and developers then follow.

Olean has lost population, first to sprawl when middle class families moved to new homes in the countryside, and later due to aging, and out-migration of young people who chose careers in large cities.

Today, however, there are new, positive trends. Remote working empowers highly skilled people to choose both lifestyle and career. Olean already has positive momentum toward becoming a lifestyle-choice community.

Civic Courage: Olean undertook an extreme, walkable makeover of the historic downtown street and streetscape. The result has been transformational for downtown revitalization, quality of life, and pedestrian safety.