\nconsider locating in walkable, culturally diverse city centers because that’s
\nwhere young workers want to be, according to some liberal commie rag printed on
\nrecycled draft cards. No, scratch that, this argument comes from the Harvard Business Review<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An article in the May
\nissue opens with the news that United Airlines is moving its headquarters to
\ndowntown Chicago from the outer-ring suburb Elk Grove, while Quicken Loans
\nplans to build headquarters in downtown Detroit. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“These companies are
\ngetting a jump on a major cultural and demographic shift away from suburban
\nsprawl,” writes Assistant Editor Ania Wieckowski. “The change is imminent, and
\nbusinesses that don’t understand and plan for it may suffer in the long run.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She finds that both
\nyoung workers and retiring baby boomers want neighborhoods that offer shops,
\nparks, schools, arts centers, and the like. The same preference holds for
\ncompact suburban cores, so it’s not as if every business in Chicago needs to
\nfind space in the downtown Loop. There’s data behind this: In the last U.S.
\ncensus, 64 percent of college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds said they searched
\nfor a job after choosing the city
\nwhere they wanted to live.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s not just a matter
\nof taste. There are a lot of real
\nproblems associated with auto-dependent living, says Wieckowski.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Studies in 2003 by the <\/p>\n Wieckowski quotes <\/p>\n This is great stuff, and not just because it comes from a respected, clean-cut <\/p>\n My one-time hometown of <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Gulf of Mexico: from magnificent resource to industrial sacrifice zone<\/a><\/p>\n The story of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill [PHOTOS]<\/a><\/p>\n Louisiana shrimpers file lawsuit over U.S. oil spill<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAmerican Journal of Public
\nHealth<\/a> and the American Journal of
\nHealth Promotion<\/a> linked sprawl to rising obesity rates,” she writes. “…
\nResearch by behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman and his team shows that out of
\na number of daily activities, commuting has the most negative effect on
\npeople’s moods. And economists Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer have found that
\ncommuters who live an hour away from work would need to earn 40% more money
\nthan they currently do to be as satisfied with their lives as noncommuters.”<\/p>\n
\nRobert Fishman, a University of Michigan urban planning professor: “In the
\n1950s, suburbs were the future. The city was then seen as a dingy environment.
\nBut today it’s these urban neighborhoods that are exciting and diverse and
\nexploding with growth.”<\/p>\n
\npublication. Urban-minded employees can only do so much if their jobs require
\nthem to commute to the outskirts. Successful city centers require more than
\ncondos and retail shops-they need major employers.<\/p>\n
\nGrand Rapids, Mich. (metro population 770,000), is a perfect case study. There’s
\na fair bit of urban redevelopment and it’s got loads of creative types building
\ncivic culture through things like the public contest ArtPrize<\/a>.
\nYet all of the region’s largest businesses-which include Amway, Wolverine, and the
\nfurniture maker Steelcase—are headquartered on the suburban fringe. The only
\nlarge employers downtown are the government buildings. If more executives locate
\ntheir companies downtown to attract new talent, as HBR advises, they can
\nprovide a major boost for compact urban designs, and all the social benefits they
\nbring.<\/p>\n