By Andy Hayes, President-Northern Lakes Economic Alliance
I recently attended a meeting downstate where the discussion centered on how we can benefit Michigan and its communities. In typical brainstorm fashion, our large group was divided into smaller tables to discuss and generate ideas which would be reported out to the larger group.
After one group’s suggestion that we help communities recruit individuals, an audience member (respectfully) suggested “why grow?” When the response was “to keep our communities from stagnating,” the audience member persisted that growth is bad—causing unnecessary congestion and build out, and that we should learn to live with what we have. Polite as the discussion was, I resisted the urge to jump up and debate the topic that day.
So there is no misunderstanding, growth is a GOOD thing…if done right. There are countless examples from the old days (and unfortunately present day too) of poorly managed growth in urban sprawl, or over taxing of utilities, etc. That is BAD growth.
Communities are just like people; they’re either green and growing or ripe and rotting; nothing stays the same. Each of us tries to grow personally, professionally, and keep in shape—as a result we are “better” than we were before. In fact, we can choose to continually grow and improve. Yes, we all know that one-guy from high school that 20 years later is still sitting on the couch re-living the same game-winning-touchdown-pass he caught. That’s an example of “no-growth.” Communities are the same; they can’t sit around remembering the good ole days. Instead, they need to look forward and position themselves for a positive, productive future.
If you’ve been paying attention, Michigan has been hemorrhaging for 10 years when three major companies ended 400,000+ manufacturing jobs. This created a ripple effect and tail spin of people leaving our state—taking their skilled talents (and families) with them. Although Michigan has done many things right, and we are gaining back ground… we need talent. We need people to move back to Michigan—bringing their skills & talents, but also their families, ideas, and civic involvement. It is this growth that Michigan and our communities desperately need in order to be a vibrant state.
Here’s the fun part. Yes… we have to encourage and embrace growth in order to be better, but we must be smart about it. As communities (and as a state) we need to decide what type of growth works, where best to encourage it, and what happens when it comes. In other words, we must do some advanced planning so the growth we so desperately need is organized, positive, and helps us get to where we want to go.
And here’s the REALLY FUN part. There are loads of people and resources out there that can help. From your local economic development organization (in our case the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance) to the MSU Extension, regional planning agencies such as Networks Northwest or the NE Michigan Council of Governments to the Michigan Municipal League and others.
Michigan has a bright future, and I hope growth will be part of it!
