1. 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

23. 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

24. A Few Facts
Detroit St. Louis
Ø Pop. 713,777 (decrease of 10.3% Ø Pop. 319,294 (increase of 8%
since 2000) since 2000)
Ø Metro Pop. – 4.3 M Ø Metro Pop. – 2.8 M
Ø 25-34-year-olds - 18.33% Ø 25-34-year-olds – 19.1%
Ø College attainment – 26.4% Ø College attainment - 28%
Ø Per capita - Michigan – 36th (a Ø Per capita – Missouri – 33rd (a
drop of 18 places in since 2000) drop of 3 places since 2000)

25. What we know
• 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

26. “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

27. A decade of higher education cuts - 27%
21-34 yr olds:
17.6%
vs.
19.1%
Nationally
46% of college graduates leave Michigan

28. Shifting Demographics
Automotive miles driven
by ages 21-30:
13.7%
VS.
20.8% in 1995
18.3% in 2001
<25% of households considered “traditional”

29. Why urban places matter
24 – 34 year olds:
• 1980 – 10% business district
• 1990 – 12%
• 2010 – 32%

30. Changing Patterns of Suburban Places
• 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.

31. Culture Front & Center Zero Emission Public Transit
Open Source Government
Farm Fresh Food Venture-Capital Mind Set
Renaissance Neighborhoods
Incentivized Teachers Car Sharing Smart Energy

32. 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

33. 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

34. Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
• 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

35. Placemaking & The Power of 10

36. 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

38. Physical Design & Walkability
Messaging & Technology
Green Initiatives
Multiculturalism
Cultural Economic Development
Transit
Entrepreneurship Education
Center for 21st Century Communities – 21C3

39. Need for strong metro regions

40. Community
Engagement
Placemaking
“Often the best
“Civic engagement is
ideas, the ones that
at once motivated by
have preservation
and contributing to a
and enhancement at
sense of place.”
their center, come
from the community.”
Micro Governance
“Expecting mid-20th
century governance
structures to handle
the challenges of the
early 21st century is
not realistic.”

41. The Path to Prosperity
Bold leadership
Global understanding
Knowledge-based economy
Higher education investment
Create quality of place
Regional focus

42. Dan Gilmartin
CEO & Executive Director
Michigan Municipal League
E-mail: dpg@mml.org
Twitter: @dpgilmartin
Blog: www.economicsofplace.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MMLeague