Prosperity comes from a focus on people, policy and place on a regional scale, part 5

Eric Warman<warmaner@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - April 10, 2025

Updated from an original article written by Kurt Schindler.

It takes a region to provide the places, variety, resources and attributes to attract people; economic development also needs to be coordinated among state, regional, educational, local government and private sectors.

Categories of across-the-board various strategies for Michigan to be competitive in the new economy. Results of a Land Policy Institute Prosperity Initiative for Michigan

Local governments are not the only ones with an important role to bring Michigan back to prosperity in the new economy. State government and educational institutions also have vital parts to play.

This article series focuses on the new economic age and playing field, comparing the old economy and new economy. It’s worth pointing out this shift has already occurred, and Michigan still needs to catch up with the change. The series also focuses on the importance of attracting people, noting that population growth is economic growth. Thus, population attraction strategies by local communities are important to combine with placemaking, and are dependent on local government coordinating with partners in their larger region.

For the state as a whole, the research report authored by what was then Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute, in partnership with other universities in Michigan, outlined fourteen broad categories of strategies for having prosperity. Those fourteen categories, outlined in “Chasing the Past or Investing in the Future: Placemaking for Prosperity in the New Economy,” can be divided into three general areas: people, policy and place.

These three general areas also tend to fall into different camps for implementation. Issues around people are things most likely to be within the realm of the education system. Policy focuses on state-wide organizations and state government. Place includes things best suited for local and regional government.

In the new economy, businesses think in regional terms. An industry does not necessarily choose to move to a specific township, village, county or city. An industry is choosing to locate in a region or sub-region. The assets and attributes businesses look for are more than what exists in a single municipality. The customer base, labor pool, education system, medical services and many more things are regional (multiple counties) or sub-regional (maybe two counties) in size. If local government is not also thinking in regional terms and presenting a regional picture, it runs the danger of not even speaking the same language as the industry it is trying to attract.

This should not be a surprise. A question I often ask an audience is, “How many of you live, shop, work, play, learn, socialize, go to church and everything else without ever leaving the boundaries of your local government?” Of course, no one raises their hand. We all live our lives in a region or sub-region. The regional approach for new economy strategies about people, policy, and place also apply.

People

The first area is a focus on people, enhancing the talent and skills that people have. This largely falls to the educational system. That includes pre-K and K-12, colleges, universities, Michigan Works, private and nongovernmental organizations, and economic development organizations.

One strategy to enhance skills and talent is to train the future workforce. In the new economy, there is a direct relationship between a population’s education levels and the median income in the state. This is not saying everyone must go to college, but focuses on getting people the training, certifications, or degrees that can drive economic growth. The Michigan Department of Education has Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan and focuses on the importance of education.

Additional strategies are re-tooling the existing workforce, and attracting and retaining talent. It also means advancing innovation and technology with training, research and development. Educational and nongovernmental organizations also have a role in creating an entrepreneurial culture through the teaching of creative arts, and community acceptance and fostering of entrepreneurship. A strategy is also to work on marketing and promoting the region the education institutions are located within.

While this article divides economic development tasks among various government entities, it does not have to be done that way. For example, Kalamazoo Promise is a multi-government and nonprofit effort to provide post-secondary education funding for graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools. Many communities understand the attraction of knowledge/talent workers means getting education beyond high school. So, various structures of investment in higher education are being done within a number of Michigan communities. The goal is to grow that talent right at home. Success is pointed out by research done by the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research: Kalamazoo scholarships increased the number of college degrees received.

Higher education pays back big time, not just for the individual with higher pay and health, but also for the region. The more educated the workforce, the faster the recovery from recessions, and the more attractive those communities are to potential new employers, according to the Kresge Foundation’s materials.

So, while education mainly falls to the education system, local government and nonprofit organizations can also have an important role.

Policy

The second area focuses on policy and improving the business climate. It is largely a state government legislative function and deals with regional and local organizations. Shaping responsive government to the needs of the new economy becomes an important strategy. The state can also help businesses diversify and connect globally.

Financial policy issues at the state level include increasing capital funding and designing a fair and competitive tax structure. State-level efforts also have a role in creating an entrepreneurial culture along with the education system. Also, the state can enhance transportation connections and choices.

The local role for this means streamlining the zoning and local review and approval processes. Things like “one-stop-shopping,” so one can get all their permits with one stop and one location. Strategies include having deadline decisions on site plan review, special use permits; considering home occupations as an “automatic” activity in a home; mixed use districts, like downtowns; allowing a mix of housing types; broadly defined agriculture that allows many more types of activities; accommodating alternative energy (with such structures as part of buildings, etc.); fewer special uses replaced with permitted uses; and requiring affordable housing for the workforce.

Place

The third area is a focus on place, enhancing community through placemaking, and is done by city, village, township and county governments; regions; private and nongovernmental organizations; and economic development organizations. This series of articles already focused on strengthening quality of place (placemaking and all that entails) in part 4. This includes enhancing green and blue infrastructure opportunities.

It also means optimizing infrastructure investment, such as re-directing some spending towards things like high-speed internet. It also means working with state efforts to enhance transportation connections and choices, and working with educational systems to market and promote the region.

Conclusion

All these efforts need to work together. There are many different actors needed in order to tackle all these aspects. Coordination between them all is necessary. If that cooperation does not already exist, it needs to be initiated.

In part three of this series, we pointed out that a community that works together has many collaborative and cooperative efforts (between public, private, nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations) for accomplishing community-wide projects and will be several steps ahead toward prosperity.

In part four, we indicated this cooperation needs to also span geography to be regional. It was one of the very important findings about successful communities in the new economy: having a regional (multi-county) partnership.

For a deeper understanding of the strategies explored in this article, and more, visit the publication, “Chasing The Past or Investing in Our Future: Placemaking for Prosperity in the New Economy.”

Educators with Michigan State University Extension that focus on land use provide various training programs on planning and zoning, which are available to be presented in your county. Contact your local land use educator for more information.