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Ohio Using Quality of Life As Economic Development Tool
A growing handful of Midwestern cities, like Columbus, Ohio, Traverse City, Michigan, and Carmel, Indiana, are reaching beyond traditional incentives for recruiting business and industry, focusing on how to expand their populations by promoting the region as a good place to live.
“This is probably the fastest-growing innovation in economic development for 50 years,” said economist Michael Hicks, a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where he runs the Center for Business and Economic Research.
The county in Indiana with the strongest population growth—Hamilton—for instance, is “almost exclusively trying to attract people,” Hicks said. With four mid-sized cities, including Carmel, the county’s 350,000-plus population has a median household income of around $100,000 and officials are projecting consistent job gains over the next five years. The county and its cities consistently make “best places to live” lists because of the quality of public schools, amenities for singles, the health of the population and opportunities for outdoor recreation.
Parts of the Midwest served as longtime anchors for U.S. manufacturing, but saw declines in recent decades as jobs moved overseas or to Southern states where companies see factors like fewer labor unions, lower taxes and cheaper land as upsides. Meanwhile, coastal cities like Boston, San Francisco and Seattle served as magnets for firms and talent in the tech sector.
The emerging focus on attracting people who can provide the foundation for a solid workforce in the region stands in contrast to other approaches to economic development, which can often prioritize policies like tax breaks for companies to build factories or warehouses.
But as economics professor Amanda Weinstein of the University of Akron’s College of Business, in Ohio, noted, “We are increasingly seeing the jobs move to people rather than the people move to jobs.”
The rise of remote work adds another twist, allowing professionals in some fields to work anywhere and giving communities across the country a chance to lure them in.
Weinstein, like some other economists, advises local governments to invest in and promote quality-of-life amenities, along with health care and education, to help retain residents and attract out-of-staters looking to relocate to affordable, family-friendly communities.
Kettering city manager called ‘pillar’ for peers as long tenure nears end
Mark Schwieterman’s employment with the city of Kettering spans five different decades, during which he’s become what one fellow city manager called “a pillar” for municipal leaders statewide.
The end of Schwieterman’s 34 years with the city — more than 16 as its top administrator — ends Saturday. His departure closes a chapter that those who have worked closely with him say has been marked by successes that far outweigh failures.
The redevelopment of what is now Kettering Business Park, the modernization of Kettering’s fire and police facilities, and job growth at the Miami Valley Research Park all came under Schwieterman’s leadership, several officials have said.
Kettering “acknowledges the work, the foresight and the unwavering grit” Schwieterman has displayed to improve the city and “the entire region without hesitation or complaint,” according to a city council proclamation approved recently.
“Mark has been a pillar within the local government management profession, within the Dayton region and throughout Ohio,” longtime Oakwood City Manager Norbert Klopsch said in an email.
Schwieterman has served as treasurer for the Ohio City/County Managers Association since 2012, according to its website.
City Health Dashboard Provides Data and Insights Into Community Health
A partnership between New York University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is providing new insights into community health data in cities and states across the country. The City Health Dashboard aims to make neighborhood level data easily accessible to drive action to improve the nation’s health.
Communities can find it difficult to access data at the census track or city level. The City Health Dashboard aims to simplify and streamline this process to identify health outcomes including the current physical and mental health of a community, and health factors that are driving outcomes in the physical environment. Metrics include social and economic factors, health behaviors and access to medical care.
This data has also been used to evaluate gun violence as a public health crisis, which has been increasing in recent years. In partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the City Health Dashboard has added new metrics to demonstrate the impact that guns are having on communities: firearm homicides and firearm suicides. These measures mark the first time that CDC-collected death records have been analyzed to the city level for hundreds of cities across the country. Among the findings, the data has shown that four out of every ten gun-related deaths in cities nationally were suicides, an 11 percent increase since 2014. City leaders can move communities in the right direction, and these data can be the first step. Explore new gun violence data for your city on the dashboard.
