The 2 % Goal for Ohio's Cities

The Brooking's Institute is known for promoting ideas and suggestions which promote out of the box thinking. Recently, I read Bruce Katz and Jennifer Vey's, fellows at the Brooking's Institute studing urban issues and trends, article The Goal for Ohio Metros: 43,000 residents suggests that Ohio's cities achieve 2% growth. The authors write "Imagine the economic, fiscal and psychological impacts of housing 43,000 residents in downtown Cleveland, 40,000 residents in downtown Cincinnati and 17,000 residents in downtown Dayton - substantial jumps from their current populations. The critical massing of people would attract amenities that lure businesses and jobs for downtown and metro-area residents, shoppers and tourists, and help stem the exodus of young workers. And appealing new housing with street-level cafes and shops would bring life and a virtuous cycle of growth to metropolitan hubs."

So, how do our leaders achieve this 2% growth and clustering of residents ? We are all familiar with the use of tax incentives for commercial development and entertainment venues. We are also familiar with the benefits brought to residential development by low income housing tax credits, new market tax credits, tax increment financing and other such tools.

The authors further suggest that universities locate satellite campuses in areas where residential and commercial growth is desired. Universities include associate, bachelor and masters degree programs. Take Chicago as an example. Several undergraduate, graduate and professional school programs are located in the LOOP business district and east and west of Michigan Avenue. These programs have helped spur the development of residential projects, commercial projects and transportation projects while integrating a student and professional academic population into the demographic mix of the respective areas.

The authors write "Some 50 four- and two-year colleges are located in the eight Ohio cities highlighted by our report and should be encouraged to develop downtown satellite campuses. Higher education institutions are not only major employers but incubators of new, creative businesses and jobs. As low-wage service-sector jobs replace industrial jobs, encouraging the expansion of tech ventures and health care facilities is essential to expanding the number of Ohio residents earning a good living in reborn downtowns."

The message to pull out of this article, the trend to create or capture, is that development projects will require a conglomeration of ideas and efforts pulling together the needs and interests of all sorts of private and public institutions. The development community should work with the universities, colleges and municipalities to enhance our use of our cities and expand educational horizons beyond the traditional campuses they call home.