During a visit to Des Moines last week, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, encouraged city and business leaders to invest in transportation now and be willing to take risks to develop the city’s downtown into a vibrant place.

“You have to keep this place alive at night,” Newsom said. “Cultural amenities drive energy and excite people and create reasons for people to come to the central core. You also have to have a vibrant transportation system. The biggest mistake you can make is not making wise investments in transportation today, which will be cheap compared to what it will eventually be.”

Newsom participated in a roundtable discussion with about a dozen city and county elected officials and business leaders on Monday at Roosevelt High School to exchange ideas on helping Des Moines through a period of rapid change spurred by downtown development. In the 1980s, San Francisco experienced a population shift from its downtown area and has combated it by rezoning parcels to encourage “smart growth” and additional public-private partnerships for development.

Newsom was elected mayor two years ago at the age of 36. Since then, he entrepreneur has cut costs by reducing the city’s vehicle fleet and number of copy machines and renegotiating contracts for cellular phones, pagers and vending machines. This money has been reinvested in incentives for builders, working families and corporations.

One participant in the roundtable discussion, Polk County Supervisor E.J. Giovannetti said he agreed with Newsom on the importance of tax incentives for development, and he thinks the city and county should work more closely together to create new incentives and coordinate existing ones.

Although Newsom thinks that incentives and tax credits are helpful, he believes that entrepreneurs play a greater role in progress.

“Money is a good excuse,” he said. “I think great ideas generate resources. If you come up with a good idea, money follows, and that’s true no matter where you live.”

Developer Harry Bookey, owner of BH Equities, participated in the roundtable discussion with Newsom, and he said he liked the Californian’s energy.

“The sheer force of his personality and the passion he has is something that we could use here,” Bookey said. “He understands the necessity of entertainment and urban culture and the excitement of it – the idea that just one or two things can make a huge difference.”