the economics of place - the value of building communities around people st. louis
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The Economics of Place: The Value of Building Communities Around People
Livable Network St. Louis August 23, 2012
Dan Gilmar*n, CEO & Execu*ve Director Michigan Municipal League
The Way We Were
• Quality of life and of place has declined § (In 2010, 36th in per capita income—a drop of 18 places in 10 years)
• Manufacturing as we know it is gone • Not adapting fast enough to the knowledge-based economy • We’re under-investing in our:
§ Universities § Community colleges § Infrastructure
• Talented millennials don’t want to live here • Entrepreneurs not being attracted
A Few Facts
Detroit
Ø Pop. 713,777 (decrease of 10.3% since 2000)
Ø Metro Pop. – 4.3 M Ø 25-34-year-olds - 18.33% Ø College attainment – 26.4% Ø Per capita - Michigan – 36th (a
drop of 18 places in since 2000)
St. Louis
Ø Pop. 319,294 (increase of 8% since 2000)
Ø Metro Pop. – 2.8 M Ø 25-34-year-olds – 19.1% Ø College attainment - 28% Ø Per capita – Missouri – 33rd (a
drop of 3 places since 2000)
• Knowledge-based • Education counts, degrees matter • Technology allows people to work anywhere; they are choosing the cities • Mobile population • “Place” attracts people • Young people choose where to live first, then look for work • World-wide competition for talent
What we know
“The most valuable resource in the 21st century is brains. Smart people tend to be mobile. Watch where they go! Because where they go, robust economic activity will follow.”
Rick Karlgaard Publisher, Forbes
46% of college graduates leave Michigan
21-34 yr olds:
17.6% vs.
19.1%
Nationally
A decade of higher education cuts - 27%
Shifting Demographics
<25% of households considered “traditional”
13.7% VS.
20.8% in 1995 18.3% in 2001
Automotive miles driven by ages 21-30:
Why urban places matter
24 – 34 year olds: • 1980 – 10% business district • 1990 – 12% • 2010 – 32%
• Young people rent • Walk less…suburbanites walk less, bike less, and
are less physically fit than city dwellers. • Goal is to engineer more physical activity. • Trulia/National Association of Realtors
§ Just 9 percent of the people surveyed said their ideal home size was over 3,200 square feet. Meanwhile, more than one-third said their ideal size was under 2,000 feet.
Changing Patterns of Suburban Places
Incentivized Teachers
Culture Front & Center Zero Emission Public Transit
Open Source Government
Farm Fresh Food Venture-Capital Mind Set
Renaissance Neighborhoods
Smart Energy Car Sharing
What do we mean by “Sense of Place?”
“Placemaking is about turning a neighborhood,
town, or city from a place you can’t wait to get through into one
you never want to leave.”
“The difference between great cities and good cities is the quality of their public spaces.
Fred Kent Project for Public Spaces
It’s more about place than design
• When focusing on place, you do everything differently • Build communities around happiness and well-being • Importance of the ordinary citizen in planning • Fosters a sense of pride and emotional connectiveness
• Community driven
§ Citizens are the experts
§ Returning responsibility to the community
§ Need “zealous nuts”
• Flexible, yet sustainable
• Use drives design
• Creates centers of energy & collaboration
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
Placemaking & The Power of 10
Detroit: Canfield Social Yard – Winner $2,000 Muskegon: The Fat Garden – 2nd prize $1,000 Detroit: Innovation Square – Runner-up $500 Hartland: Old Hartland High School – Runner-up $500
Physical Design & Walkability
Transit
Messaging & Technology
Multiculturalism
Green Initiatives
Cultural Economic Development
Entrepreneurship Education
Center for 21st Century Communities – 21C3
Need for strong metro regions
Placemaking “Civic engagement is at once motivated by and contributing to a
sense of place.”
Micro Governance “Expecting mid-20th century governance structures to handle the challenges of the early 21st century is
not realistic.”
Community Engagement
“Often the best ideas, the ones that have preservation and enhancement at their center, come from the community.”
Bold leadership
Global understanding
Knowledge-based economy
Higher education investment
Create quality of place
Regional focus
The Path to Prosperity
Dan Gilmartin CEO & Executive Director Michigan Municipal League E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @dpgilmartin Blog: www.economicsofplace.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/MMLeague