Economics of Place

Communities should be designed for people, not just cars. That’s the overall theme of this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR. Experts on the show discuss the concept of “Complete Streets” and how we should design our communities for everyone – pedestrians of all ages, bicyclists as well as for vehicles. We also talk about projects throughout our state that allow pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and others to safely use the roads in their communities. Read more about the creating the types of places where people want to live, work and play here at placemaking.mml.org. My co-host for this show is Dustin Block, community news director for mlive.com Detroit. Our guests are Suzanne Schulz, Planning Department Director for the City of Grand Rapids; Jason Flower, Economic Development Program Manager for the Woodward Avenue Association;  John Lindenmayer, the Advocacy and Policy Director for the League of Michigan Bicyclists. Our June show is scheduled to air 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 26, 2013. You can also listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

One vital part to restoring economic prosperity in Michigan is getting people involved in creating thriving communities. On this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR we talk about civic engagement and more specifically why it’s important and how communities of all shapes, sizes and demographics are doing it. My co-host for this show is Detroit Free Press columnist Nancy Kaffer. Our guests included Allegan City Manager Robert Hillard and Allegan resident Kali Frankhauser. They talked about some very exciting projects happening in their small West Michigan community, including an effort that involved input of well over 100 residents about ways to improve the city’s downtown riverfront area. Another guest is Dr. Katherine Loflin, the “City Doctor”, and principal of Loflin Consulting Solutions, which has done groundbreaking work in the field of placemaking and the study of civic engagement. We are also joined by Craig Peterson, communications director for the Church of the Messiah Detroit; an d Deb Williamson, program director for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. They talk about a creative community engagement project happening on the east side of Detroit. Our May show is scheduled to air 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, 2013. You can also listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

A key to restoring economic prosperity in Michigan is creating the kinds of communities where people want to live. One way we do that is by repurposing or utilizing again buildings and infrastructure that have been in decline. This month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR focuses on this repurposing concept. We talk to leaders across Michigan about their successful efforts to revitalize communities by repurposing buildings through cooperative efforts between private and public interests. My co-host for this show is Claire Nelson, publisher of Model D. One of our guests is Matt Sviland, who along with his wife led the Lofts on Ludington mixed-use project in Escanaba that has since been selected as the 2012 winner of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation. Other guests are Mark Schurman, director of corporation communications for office furniture company Herman Miller; and Fred Kent, founder of Project for Public Spaces and a leading authority on revitalizing city spaces. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Our April show is scheduled to air at 7 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2013. You can also listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

Town-Gown and the important relationship between communities and their adjacent colleges and universities is the theme of this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR. During the show, we discuss how cooperation between city and high education institutions can lead to the economic vibrancy of the whole community. Many experts agree the key to restoring economic prosperity in Michigan is creating the kinds of communities where people want to live. One way to accomplish this is the completion of Town-Gown projects. What does Town-Gown mean? Town-Gown is the interaction of the inhabitants of a college or university town (Town) and the students and personnel of the college (Gown). Universities and host towns have an incentive to cooperate, as the schools require city services and need city approval for long-range plans, while the university towns need remuneration for public services provided. My co-host for the show is Marjory Raymer, community news editor for the Flint Journal and mlive.com. Our guests are Chris LaGrand, deputy director of Housing for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority; Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Anthony Bosbous; and David Lossing, President of the Michigan Municipal League, Mayor of Linden, director of government relations for University of Michigan-Flint, and founder of the League’s Town Gown blog. For more on this topic, be sure to check out the Michigan Municipal League’s Town Gown blog. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Our March show is scheduled to air 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, 2013, however and you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

Transportation funding is currently the hot topic in Lansing, but the discussion shouldn’t just be about funding for roads. On this month’s Prosperity Agenda we talk about transportation funding in the larger context of what it can mean for our state’s economic turnaround. We discuss how improving our transportation system, including roads as well as public transit, non-motorized opportunities, will help keep our college graduates from leaving our state. Recent studies have found that college-educated people today want to live in cities that offer alternatives to driving a car. They want effective transportation options to driving like those offered in Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, Austin and Charlotte. In fact, effective transportation systems help attract and retain residents and workers of all ages. My co-host for the show is Detroit Free Press reporter John Gallagher, who covers urban and economic redevelopment efforts in Detroit and Michigan. Our guests are Bill Rustem, director of strategy for Governor Rick Snyder; State Rep. Wayne Schmidt of the Traverse City area and chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and Melanie Piana, Mayor Pro Tem in Ferndale and deputy director for the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Our February show is scheduled to air Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, however and you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

From now until 2030, AARP predicts all 50 states will see a “rapid acceleration in growth” in their elderly populations as baby boomers turn 65. During this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show we talk about retiring baby boomers and the unprecedented opportunity they bring to cities and downtowns ready to accommodate them. Several Michigan communities, such as Marquette, Holland and Howell, are already recognized for meeting this challenge and becoming thriving environments for retirees. My co-host for this first show of 2013 is Natalie Burg, a writer and owner of Vial Half Full Communications. Natalie is a former Downtown Development Director in Owosso and now writes about cities, placemaking and downtowns for numerous outlets including Metromode and Ann Arbor’s Concentrate. Our other guests are Marquette City Manager Bill Vajda, Barbara Spreitzer-Berent, an urban planner and gerontologist who serves as volunteer state coordinator for health and supportive services for AARP Michigan; and Joe Borgstrom, director of downtown and community services division for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Our January show is scheduled to air Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, however and you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

There are placemaking projects and stories happening throughout Michigan all the time. During this month’s edition of the Prosperity Agenda radio show, we talk with media from all corners of state about the placemaking efforts taking place in their communities. My co-host for this end-of-the-year show is Serena Maria Daniels, a reporter for the Detroit News who has done articles about the urban decay and renewal of Detroit. Our other guests are Jeff Hill, publisher of Rapid Growth Media, an online news site in Grand Rapids; Marjory Raymer, community editor of The Flint Journal, an mlive.com publication; and John Flesher, Associate Press Traverse City bureau chief. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Our December show is scheduled to air Wednesday, Dec. 26, however and you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

This month’s edition of the Prosperity Agenda radio show focuses on placemaking efforts in Michigan and the impact some of these projects have on working toward a more vibrant state. The show also includes a conversation with new MSHDA (Michigan State Housing Development Authority) Executive Director Scott Woosley. Woosley discusses Michigan’s efforts to promote affordable housing, revitalize some of the struggling communities and attract new investment to the state. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. However, our November showed aired Monday, Nov. 26 and you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. My co-host for the hour-long program is Claire Nelson, publisher of the online magazine, Model D. In addition to Woosley, other guests are Luke Forrest, the Michigan Municipal League’s Project Coordinator for the Center for 21st Century Communities; and Ed Dalheim of the MarCom Awards. Learn more about this placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

Communities across Michigan are taking tremendous steps to embrace green technology and green initiatives as they work toward revitalizing neighborhoods hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. This month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR looks at the green efforts taking place in Michigan cities. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next show airs today, Oct. 24, 2012, but you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. My co-host for the hour-long program is Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey is the Regional Editor for about a dozen Patch.com sites in Michigan. Our guests are Edwin Harlin, Director of the Southeast Michigan Division for the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA); Jacob Corvidae, Green Programs Manager at WARM Training Center, a 30 year old Detroit-based nonprofit that creates opportunities to learn and practice the sustainable use of energy and resources; and Dave Norwood, the Sustainability Coordinator for the city of Dearborn. Norwood will talk about the Michigan Municipal League’s Michigan Green Communities Program and how it is making communities better places to live. Green initiatives is one of eight assets that make communities vibrant places in the 21st Century. Learn more about this placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.

This month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR focuses on entrepreneurialism and the key role it plays in Michigan’s future. The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next show airs Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, but you can listen to it anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. My co-host for the hour-long program is Nancy Nall Derringer, a long-time writer and editor who currently writers for Bridge Magazine. Our guests are Josh McManus, curator and lead inventor of Little Things Laboratories and a keynote speaker at the upcoming 2012 Michigan Municipal League Convention; Bobby Smith  of En Garde! Detroit; and Jon Zemke, a Detroit-based freelance writer for Issue Media Group covering development, innovation and jobs news. Entrepreneurship is one of eight assets that make communities vibrant places in the 21st Century. Learn more about this placemaking concept here as well as on this blog.