Is Land Banking an Answer for Shrinking Cities?
There is a new planning concept circulating now that attempts to describe the multiple decades of decline and population loss that many old industrial cities have been suffering from – shrinking cities. These are areas with severe and persistent population decline that are also characterized as old, small and poor for the most part. One hundred and fifty American cities, the majority of which are in the rust belt of the Midwest, meet these criteria. The planning challenges in such areas are not the typical management of growth and expansion but rather issues like abandoned and blighted properties, stagnant economies, dispersed populations, and too much infrastructure.
One solution to the issue of blight that is being used successfully in many shrinking cities across the US is land banking. A land bank is a public authority created to hold, manage, and develop foreclosed properties. One of the best examples of a successful land bank is the Genesee County Land Bank in Michigan which covers the city of Flint. Here the county was able to streamline and simplify the tax foreclosure process to give the Land Bank the opportunity to strategically plan the reuse of the parcels it holds. Through the Genesee County Land Bank nearly 1,000 abandoned homes have been demolished, 90 affordable housing rentals units and 80 single-family homes have been reconstructed, and 700 “side yards” have been sold to adjacent landowners for upkeep. A study by Michigan State University showed that the land bank’s efforts have increased local property values by more than $100 million due to the removal of blight.
As some cities are learning growth is not always going to be the answer for every community. For some cities, shrinking in a controlled and strategic way may be the best solution. In those areas, land banks can be an important revitalization tool. In WV we would need reforms to our tax code in order to allow for land banking; however, efforts are underway to explore this through the current Tax Modernization Project.
Visit the Genesee County Land Bank to learn more.
Growing Smarter in Rural Communities
The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) recently released a report titled “Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities”. The piece is intended to provide rural communities with information on how to balance competing demands by supporting rural landscapes, helping existing places thrive, and creating new places.
According to the author, Anna Read, the first step towards understanding the application of smart growth concepts in rural areas is to understand the nature of the problems facing these communities. The trends challenging rural America include: fewer farms and farmers, loss of forest land, rapid growth at metropolitan edges, shrinking population in other areas, access to jobs and services and a lack of transportation options, and limited planning capacity. Many of these challenges are ones we have faced for many decades in West Virginia.
Relying upon the 10 principles of smart growth developed in the 1990’s by the Smart Growth Network the following goals have been developed for application in rural settings:
1. Support the rural landscape – this goal looks at the protection and preservation of natural lands and the creation of an economic network to support their use. Strategies include tax credits for conservation, preferential assessment, buy local campaigns, conservation easements, and rural residential clustering, among others.
2. Help existing places thrive – this goal focuses on maintaining the spaces, assets, and infrastructure that communities’ value. Some of the suggested strategies to achieve this include historic preservation, infill incentives, streetscape improvements, adaptive reuse, and school rehabilitation.
3. Create great new places – the final goal is to build vibrant and enduring communities that people want to live in. This is can be accomplished through visioning, place preservation, open space, walkability, traditional neighborhood development, and green building.
Rural communities like those in WV can take control of their futures by assessing current conditions, engaging the community in a visioning process, and implementing smart growth policies to achieve this community vision. This ICMA report provides a great starting point for imaging how those future visions can become reality.
To learn more about smart growth visit www.smartgrowth.org
To download the entire ICMA report visit http://tinyurl.com/2vsxvsq
Debate Over The Creative Class
We recently came across this thought provoking article about Richard Florida’s work and the notion of a “Creative Class”. Most professionals in the economic development field will tell you that there is no silver bullet for turning around local economies and that many of today’s approaches become tomorrow’s fads. There is no one-size fits all approach.
While the author of this piece calls into question the success of Florida’s concept of the creative-class as a magnet for development there is no doubt that his popularity has helped to generate millions of conversations across the country, and here in our own state, about the value of creativity, tolerance, diversity, and the sense of place. These conversations may not be directly translating into jobs (or new coffee houses) but they are helping us think in new ways about what is considered economic development. It is also helping West Virginians see ourselves more clearly – from the eyes of outsiders and in terms of what we want to become.
How do you feel about Richard Florida and his creative class approach?
Building Support for Entrepreneurs: Boone County and TEA Lead the Way
Building community or regional systems of support for entrepreneurs makes real sense and can make the difference in the economic vitality of rural communities. That’s why TEA has been hired by the Boone County Community and Economic Development Corporation to assist them in developing a comprehensive entrepreneurship program. Boone County will be the first in West Virginia to undertake the Entrepreneurship Track for Certified Development Community designation by the West Virginia Development Office.
TEA will engage the community in identifying new and expanding market opportunities, developing technical assistance resources and financing programs, and promoting networking and recognition for the county’s entrepreneurs. This work will dovetail with TEA’s recent marketing strategy for the Corridor G Regional Development Authority of which Boone County is a member.
In West Virginia businesses that employ fewer than five employees account for 17% of overall employment and in more rural parts of the state, nearly one in five jobs are attributable to these small enterprises. Eighty six percent (86%) of West Virginia’s businesses employ fewer than twenty people. Between 2002 and 2003 these businesses added over 5,600 jobs to the state’s economy while large businesses lost a total of 6,100 jobs.
Even with these impressive statistics about the importance of small business to the state’s economy, West Virginia ranks among the lowest states for new entrepreneurial growth. In a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, the states with the lowest entrepreneurial activity rates include Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio. Activity is measured by analyzing the percent of the adult U.S. population of non-business owners that start a business as their main job each month.
We’re proud to be working with Boone County as they lead the state in developing much needed support for their local entrepreneurs!
Incorporating Sustainability into Community Plans
A recent article in the April 2010 Planning Magazine by Benjamin Herman discussed how sustainability concepts can be addressed in community planning efforts. Many cities and towns throughout the country are getting more familiar with the concept of sustainability and how these goals relate to land use – however there is still confusion over what a plan for sustainability should contain. According to Herman, sustainability is “a balanced approach that considers people, planet, and prosperity” and should be viewed as a “process not an end-state”. With that in mind, how should communities incorporate these ideals into their plans?
One common approach for communities is to prepare a separate, stand alone sustainability plan as a guidance document. Other areas elect to tackle the sustainability issue by adopting climate action plans that focus on greenhouse gas reduction, energy conservation, and other conservation activities. More holistically, some communities are incorporating sustainability as an element in their comprehensive plans or by making sustainability an overarching theme for a plan. In WV, the recent comprehensive plan developed in Monroe County is a good example of how sustainability can successfully act as the primary goal which drives all of the other recommendations and actions of the plan.
Herman note that sustainability plans have mostly all the same characteristics of conventional plans in terms of long-range view, however, with a few differences related to:
- How the plan is organized – sustainable plans take a more integrated approach;
- How issues are linked – a heavier focus on connections between environmental, economic, and social issues;
- The incorporation of new issues and topics – address a wide range of topics that are rarely included in traditional plans; and
- Measuring and monitoring progress – frequent use of indicators, benchmarks, and targets to measure progress and adjust if needed.
Currently there are federal incentives to get planners to start thinking about sustainable planning. The ARRA made more than $2.7 billion in grant dollars available through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to fund state and local projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel emissions. Communities may use portion of these funds to integrate energy efficiency, conservation, and climate action planning into community plans and development regulations. The nearby community of Greensboro, NC is one area already taking advantage of these monies.
To learn more about incorporating sustainability in planning, read the APA’s policy guide, Planning for Sustainability.
To learn more about the Monroe County example contact Rod Graves with the Monroe County Planning Commission at rodgraves@hughes.net.