CEOs for Cities – August 9, 2017
Written by Kimber Lanning
Vacant Spaces to Happening Places | The Case for Preservation and Reuse
In the current race to create high quality jobs, retain local talent and attract great companies, several American cities are looking closely at the kinds of places educated workers want to live. Rather than solely focusing on tax incentives or other strategies to entice the desired companies, they are instead focusing on building great places where those companies want to be. According to the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), an increasing number of workers have been choosing their city before their job and now more than ever, companies are reluctant to relocate to cities that have a dry, homogenized or suburban feel to them, no matter how large the financial incentives are. The workers, and Millennials in particular, are actually driving location by voicing loudly the kinds of places they’d want to consider home. In a recent study, AIER cited 70 percent of young college graduates decide where to relocate based on quality-of-life factors such as robust restaurant scene and good mass transit, rather than economic conditions. …
The chain store model actually eliminates 3 jobs for every 2 it creates, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), an advocacy group that provides technical assistance to communities about local solutions for sustainable community development. So before the economist claims the hospitality industry is supporting only low wage jobs, let’s remember it’s the ecosystem of primary, secondary and tertiary jobs we need to count.
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