Its All About Place

This past week the Grand Valley Metro Council held its annual Growing Communities conference. The focus was on moving forward in west michigan with building the kind of communities that attract young talented workers. A variety of topics was covered by experts in urban planning, transit and entreprenuers. But it was the keynote speakers that struck the same theme... place matters. One them, Dan Gilmartin, executive director of the Michigan Municipal League spoke on how a new survey of Michigan college graduates shows that nearly half are leaving the state and of those half are doing so without a job. Gilmartin's conclusion is that a new economic development model is needed, one that is focused on place. Policy makers ought to be listening closely to folks like Gilmartin if they want to revive Michigan's economy.