Spreading the word.

Well its been too long and this week's finds deserve some time. First there's the Forbes magazine rankings of the top 10 most fuel efficient areas and guess what... the Woodward Corridor makes it in at number nine. As Forbes notes, this dense corridor of 11 communities has commute times half as long as other downtown neighborhoods. Also, a great article in the Wall Street Journal about efforts in Sacramento to become more dense. More and more, ordinary folks, elected officials and developers are getting it.

Are they getting it?

Ok, its time to give credit where credit is due. Last week the Michigan legislature slogged its way through the 2009 budget. And although not done yet, it seems as if they're beginning to grasp what needs to be funded in order to help bring Michigan's economy back. Despite a $400 million budget deficit that needed to be solved, lawmakers found their way to give increases to higher education, community colleges and, believe it or not, for the first time in seven years, revenue sharing. In previous posts I've described how revenue sharing are those funds returned to local governments by the state to help fund essential services such as police and fire. It also goes towards parks and libraries as well, those things that help to maintain quality of life in our hometowns. Still to be decided but also likely to get an increase in funding is k-12 education and health care. So maybe, just maybe, they're starting to get it.

Listen closely

In a continuing effort to highlight organizations and people who "get it", who understand that we must focus our energy and resources on investing in talent and cities, I bring you Dan Kildee. Dan is currently Treasurer of Genessee County and was founder of Michigan's first land bank. This week he is the guest blogger for the Michigan Municipal League.

The word is getting out

The amount of coverage being devoted to urban living has just been incredible. I previously mentioned the wall street journal article. There was also a story on good morning america as well as msnbc. One thing is clear about those cities that are attracting people, they all have options when it comes to getting around; specifically a good mass transit system. So let's here it for Crains Detroit and there support for state legislation, House Bill 6114, that would provide incentives for development projects around transportation. As Crains notes, the bill is being promoted by the Michigan Municipal League. Good for them and good for Rep. Marie Donigan of Royal Oak for introducing the bill. Its time for people to rally around this idea, being used in cities and states across the country. Michigan needs to get "on board".

Invest, invest, invest

Interesting piece recently in the Lansing State Journal about revenue sharing. That's the money the state is supposed to share back to communities to help pay for essential services such as police and fire protection. As noted by the State Journal, the state has been stiffing locals for years now. It notes that the City of Lansing has lost $21 million in revenue sharing since 2001. If the state would live up to its obligation, Lansing and cities across the state wouldn't be facing nearly the budget issues they do now. Its time for lawmakers to hold up their end of the bargain and understand that its the quality of life in each of our communities that will drive Michigan's economic turnaround. As the Michigan Municipal League notes....its time to have a different conversation.

Its Catching On...

My last blog entry commented on how the idea that "place" matters is making its way now to various traditional media. Well you can't get more traditional than the Wall Street Journal which just a ran a story with much of what I and others have been saying. That in an ever increasing mobile society, with gas at a consistent $4 a gallon, we must make investments in creating vibrant cities connected by public transit.

Spreading the word......place.

More and more it seems as if folks are getting it. Business leaders are getting it as evidenced by the recent goings on from the Mackinac Policy Conference. And this past weekend, another editorial page joined the ranks. In a piece titled "Imagine downtown Kalamazoo of the future", the Kalamazoo Gazette related the findings of Downtown Kalamazoo as it puts together a new comprehensive plan for the downtown. The conclusion from the discussion among 23 focus groups was that a healthy urban center is a must for a vibrant region where people want to live.