Supporting Communites, Creating Jobs

At the Michigan Environmental Council, we are proud to work alongside the people of Michigan who understand that our economy and our natural environment are linked. Our future economic strength and vitality depends on how well we work together to build our economy and support our workforce, while also nurturing the beautiful and unique resources that make Michigan such a special and desirable place to live.

One of the key ideas that supported our recent work as members of the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council was the belief that tomorrow's workforce is attracted to place-the distinct, unique communities like those in Michigan where people can find a broad choice of homes, shops, and recreational opportunities. From the Mom-and-Pop hardware store on the corner to the world-class auto manufacturing facilities of our state, the commercial spirit that resides in the people and communities of our state can either be nurtured or negated by land use decisions we make today.

We believe that our state's land use policies should do a better job of supporting our urban and rural economies. As the Michigan Land Use Leadership rightly points out, residents in many of Michigan's are denied the opportunity to contribute to our state's economy. Cities continue to lose population, employment opportunities, private investment, and tax base. In many areas, sprawl has concentrated those in poverty and resulted in racial segregation. Residents who remain in these areas face higher costs for public services, fewer accessible well-paying jobs, decreasing property values, deteriorating neighborhoods and low-quality schools.

Through our work on the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council in 2003, we helped craft better land use policies that would support a renewed commercial spirit and provide choices and a fair opportunity to workers and communities all across the state.

If implemented, these recommendations would improve the number of jobs, and also encourage diversity and opportunity for people across our economic and social spectrum, from the forests of the Upper Peninsula to the business centers in Detroit and Grand Rapids. More jobs, and more support for the communities that house them, means a stronger state and better quality of life for everyone.

Key Recommendations

• Chapter 7, #1a-b. State and federal infrastructure funding should be prioritized to support existing developed areas, improve and maintain the effectiveness and integrity of existing infrastructure, ensure multijurisdictional coordination, and protect public health, safety, and the environment. State and federal infrastructure funding should be targeted to encourage compact and/or mixed-use residential development and mixed-use development.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #3. The state should support public and private efforts to create and maintain "livable" urban areas where people want to live, work, invest and grow a business, learn, shop, and recreate and where there is a range of equitable housing options for all income levels by creating inner-city trails, pathways, open space and parks, and by promoting public access to and enjoyment of urban waterfront assets.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #3d. The state should create market rate and affordable housing options in urban and rural areas by establishing a Michigan Housing and Community Development Trust Fund to make grants to for-profit and nonprofit developers that agree to develop mixed-income rental and homeownership projects, and encouraging Smart Housing Zoning Codes that simplify urban redevelopment processes, encourage mixed use and income levels, and expand housing choices.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #2a. The State should establish a technical assistance capacity in one entity in state government, and encourage local governments to create the same capacity, to provide a central point of contact for private sector investors, local government, and community organizations to access and use available state and federal urban revitalization programs.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #2b. The State should define, in consultation with the private sector and local communities, a set of redevelopment readiness standards by which local governments may measure and promote their ability to compete for private redevelopment investment and state technical and financial assistance.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #4b. The state should support the governor's "cool" cities initiative by identifying policies, practices, and tools that can be used to attract highly trained, educated, and employable individuals to live and work in Michigan cities.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #5. The state should recognize certain communities as "commerce centers" and target its resources to support redevelopment and growth within these existing commerce centers. Commerce centers should be defined based on their (1) relative population density, and (2) the availability of existing public infrastructure required to support development.
  
  
• Chapter 4, #6. The state should recognize that our cities need a diverse set of mobility options. In partnership with the federal and local governments, the state should support modern, cost-efficient, multimodal transportation systems to assure that our urban areas are accessible, attractive and efficient for people of all ages, incomes, and physical abilities.
  
  
• Chapter 7, #1e. The state should provide incentives and tools for communities that participate in multijurisdictional planning, develop master plans for these communities, and encourage development in areas where infrastructure exists.
  
  
• Chapter 5, #5. Viable value-added agriculture. The ability to add value to Michigan agricultural commodities and agricultural land will continue to be key in keeping farmers profitable and farming sustainable. The state should continue to support existing incentive-driven, value-added programs that protect the environment, increase the profitability of farmers, and thus preserve farmland.

Learn how you can get more involved in land use policy reform in Michigan by clicking on these pages:

Michigan People and the Land: Why it Matters

Michigan Cool Cities: Why it Matters

Room at the Inn: Making More of our Cities
By Brad Garmon, MEC

On land use, where do we go from here?
By Lana Pollack, MEC President

Land use reform calls for grassroots solutions
By Conan Smith, MEC Land Programs Directory

Take Action on Land Use!