If rusty, conservative, back-words Grand Rapids can make eco-friendly, economic development why can't we?!
Why can't we take our rusty city and make it green? We can reinvent our economy, like Grand Rapids has, by making it green. Granted, there are still problems in Grand Rapids. They have suffered manufacturing losses just like us. It is not paradise- but they have a start. They were successful in saving their down town. What if we did this? What if we did small things, like making habitat homes LEED certified? What if we had an eco-friendly restaurant? What if we had a self sustaining recycled materials manufacturing town?! What if we made our rusty, broken down factories into Green buildings?
AN EVEN BIGGER WHAT IF: What if our businesses, government leaders, developers, contractors, citizens, investors worked together to make this happen. What if we had a strategic plan based on research like the one implemented in Grand Rapids? It would be a struggle. Grand Rapids struggled and still struggles- but they have won many battles. We are at Ground Zero here in Dayton. The economy needs resuscitation. It's time to act.
I know that we do not have as much private capital as Grand Rapids had when implementing these projects. I know this for a fact because much of my research involved Grand Rapids as a case study. This does not mean that we should give up. What this means is that we have to be more creative than Grand Rapids. We have to really LEARN from what they did, study what they did, and implement the projects that are most likely to work. BUT we do have positives. Dayton is in a much better location geographically. Grand Rapids may be pretty- but it is really damn cold. I see this as a negative. We enjoy very mild weather here in Dayton in comparison to Grand Rapids. Both Grand Rapids and Dayton have nice, scenic rivers. We have Wright Patterson, one of the nation's largest research facilities. Tech Town is a start- a nice way to capitalize on our researchers and engineers. But it is ONLY a start. We can do more. We can do better.
A Green economy could turn things around here in Dayton. A way to reinvent our economy. We can combine our rich history of innovation with our current research core. We can ameliorate our manufacturing woes with green-manufacturing. We can transform our aging landscape into something spectacular. I know with PATIENCE, STRATEGY, COOPERATION, and RESEARCH Dayton too can be like Grand Rapids.
We cannot settle for retail developments and superficial face lifts. Read the snippet I have inserted or follow the hyperlink to the article from the Detroit Free Press.
GRAND RAPIDS -- When Mayor George Heartwell looks out his office window, he sees an unusual sight in Michigan: a skyline full of construction cranes. The city is experiencing a building boom, and it's green. Four of the five giant new projects rising downtown are green-built. Churchy, conservative Grand Rapids has become a visionary environmental role model and arguably Michigan's greenest city.
This rustbelt town is dotted with living green roofs and rainwater cisterns, solar panels and geothermal systems. A slick new art museum, giant YMCA and new ballet theater are all green. The city has hybrid buses and energy-saving LED bulbs in traffic lights. Heartwell plans to bring back streetcars and put up wind turbines on the city's bridges.
More than half the state's LEED-certified houses -- those built to demanding environmental standards -- are in Grand Rapids. And the city has 32 LEED-certified buildings, more per capita than any other city in the country, according to U.S. Green Building Council figures. Another 50 LEED buildings are in the pipeline.
The city gets 20% of its electricity for city buildings from renewable sources now, and Heartwell is aiming for 100% by 2020. Yes, really, in Grand Rapids.
"We have very conservative values here, but we also have a very progressive mind-set," said Keith Winn, president of a local consulting firm that works on green projects. Sustainability is big all over western Michigan. The three furniture giants -- Steelcase, Herman Miller and Haworth -- all have super-green headquarters and product lines.
Habitat for Humanity of Kent County builds nothing but LEED homes. Holland has the first gold-certified LEED hotel. Grand Valley State University is planning the country's first 100% green campus. Business and government are all on board.
"Sustainability is not just putting out recycling bins and turning down the thermostat," said Matt Tueth, who teaches sustainable business at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. "It's a core change." Here, it's happening.
Green city, green leaders
"I'm a fisherman, boater, hiker," said Heartwell, explaining his environmental bent. An ordained Church of Christ minister, he quotes South American writers and Native American proverbs in speeches. He only had been mayor for three weeks in 2003 when he announced his 20% renewable energy goal, something no other Michigan city has achieved. The state just adopted a requirement for 10% of utilities' electricity to come from renewables by 2015.
Heartwell, named one of 12 top mayors in the nation for his green initiatives by a noted expert on sustainable cities, says he hopes to bring renewable energy manufacturers to town. His city is described as "America's greenest city" in the October issue of Fast Company, a business magazine that focuses on innovation and technology.
All new city-owned buildings are built to LEED standards, and so are many private projects, including a commercial office building, a retail center and four new medical office and research buildings, Heartwell said. "Architects say that in the past, they had to convince owners to build green," he said. "Now, owners are demanding it."
People say it was a confluence of business and political leaders who actively pushed eco-friendly initiatives over the past 15 years that led to Grand Rapids' green successes. They include Heartwell; philanthropist Peter Wege, who poured money into green projects; developer Guy Bazzani, who rebuilt an entire neighborhood with green buildings, and pioneering executives at Steelcase and Herman Miller, who made their own buildings and businesses green and then spread the gospel. Academic and church leaders also have been on board.
Heartwell credits acceptance by residents, businesses and government. "Grand Rapids was ready for this," he said. "We show what's possible."
'This is not a fad'
Joni Jessup walked around the footprint of her new house, piling bits of scrap metal for recycling. She pointed out the view from her back deck, a forest that holds wild turkeys and deer.
"For me, this is a very big deal," said Jessup, 58, a first-time home buyer helping to build her new Habitat for Humanity house in gritty southeast Grand Rapids. Hers is one of 16 new green Habitat homes being built on a cul-de-sac.
"People are seeing a need to live differently now," she said. "It's good."
Her home includes features such as nontoxic paint, super-efficient Energy Star appliances, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, an insulated foundation, water-efficient toilets, an air exchange system, energy-efficient windows and insulation made of ground-up newspapers. Most construction materials were recycled.
"This is not a fad," said Pam Doty-Nation, director of Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. The local Habitat built the country's first LEED Habitat house and now builds nothing else.
"People think it's more expensive, but we've demonstrated it's not," she said. LEED requirements add $6,000 to $8,000 on a $100,000 house, but owners save up to $2,000 more per year on energy costs. It also boosts resale value.
"If we can do this, anybody can," she said.
For More, Follow the link to the Detroit Free Press.
We keep reading about the credit crunch and mortgage melt down. Will this effect every, single bank?
Yes, and no. Although published before the death of the bailout bill, this CNN article, http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/25/news/companies/banks_lending/index.htm?postversion=2008092515
details how smaller banks might be a safer bet than troubled lending giants. After the melt down of WaMu, I considered moving to a smaller bank or credit union. I decided not to- mainly because of the FDIC guarantee at my current institution. If you cannot change banks, look for the FDIC stamp. It guarantees your savings, some money market accounts, and checking account balance up to 100,000. Both Obama and McCain have promised to raise the FDIC limit to 250,000, in theory, to help small businesses.
Smaller banks, though, backed by the FDIC or NCUA are a good choice. Dayton has some great local institutions- Liberty Bank, WesBanco, Peoples Savings Bank of Troy. DayAir and WrightPatt credit unions are great, too. They also seem to be holding up to the pressure. All positive signs. Credit unions do have their benefits, too. They are cooperatives, meaning that they are owned and operated by members. If you have an account at DayAir or WrightPatt, this means that you own part of that credit union. Further, the goal of a credit union is not to generate profit (surplus is good, but not continual growth like a bank). If you are looking to buy a home right now, you may not be able to get a loan from the larger banking institution. Rather, look to local banks and credit unions. There will still be a crunch; people with poor to bad credit will not get loans.
Banking at local institution is a great way to keep the money in the community.
The recent chemical attack on the Islamic center of Dayton CANNOT be tolerated. This was a truly despicable act brought out of ethnic and religious intolerance. As Daytonians, as Americans- we cannot stand for this. We have allowed fear and poison against Muslims into our radio stations, news broadcasts, presidential election, and daily lives. It is absolutely unacceptable. Christianity, like Islam has extremist groups. Most Christians are not judged based on the actions of the KKK (which is a "Christian" organization). Why should Muslims be treated as such? Why should they experience prejudice because of extremist factions?
We cannot allow our fellow Daytonians to be prey to these kinds of attacks. Every American is guaranteed freedom, liberty, and justice in this country. Every, single man, woman, and child. Let me be perfectly plain: This was a terrorist attack against muslim individuals. Individuals who were peacefully practicing their religion. They were attacked on a holiday- one of the holiest days of their religious calendar. Many of these individuals, likely immigrants, came to this country to pursue the aforementioned freedoms guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution.
To say that I am infuriated would be an understatement. The Dayton City Police have stated that "they do not have evidence to suggest this was a hate crime at this time." Are you kidding me? How could this not be a hate crime?! Why is this not on the front page of every news channel's website in Dayton? Why hasn't the DDN brought about more coverage? I am OUTRAGED by this. This was a HATE crime. The DDN referred to this as an "incident." Let's be honest, people. This was a CRIME. Not an incident. The cowards who committed this crime needed to be apprehended and put to justice.
ALL Americans deserve justice. The members of the Dayton Islamic Center deserve justice. They deserve solidarity. They deserve the liberty guaranteed to them by our Constitution. This is OUR city. We need to demonstrate to the people of the Dayton Islamic Center that they are welcome here. WE stand by them and We will NOT tolerate this hatred in OUR COMMUNITY.
With an impending bail out, many folks are wondering, how will this affect me? How will this affect my job? What impact will it have on my city, industry, etc? I have a few theories and lots of questions that I would like to share with you all.
Dayton's economy has plodded along tenuously for some time now- could things get worse? I sure hope not, but it's time to brace for the worst. Many regions are going to suffer. I have never advocated for the adoption of the financial industry as a form of economic development. This economic crisis is the reason why. What we are seeing is the collapse of a house of cards. Regional economies that are based in the financial, I predict, will see serious declines in local capital. What does this mean exactly? Expect less funding for non-for profit programming, arts programming, and any sorts of extras- parks and recreation, consumer goods like clothes and gadgets. This will be coupled with increased strain on individuals' ability to gain credit. Overall, the consumer goods markets and service sectors will have to shrink.
We are already seeing this in our nearby neighbor, Columbus. In addition to being the state capital and the home of OSU, Columbus has had strong ties to financial and insurance sectors. Nationwide & Countrywide both have strong presence in Columbus. Recently, the Columbus Symphony has filed for bankruptcy. Despite many attempts to save it, the symphony has collapsed. Columbus has seen decreased private investment in brownfield projects, and has seen the growth of the so called "tent city" a homeless colony.
You are probably asking why and how the symphony matters in these hard economic times. Economic health is measured using a number of statistical techniques. Generally speaking, linear and logistic regression techniques are used. Arts programming, parks and recreation, and the existence of non-for profits are used to measure the health of regional economies. Lastly, luxury markets are also used to predict economic futures. When key indicators of economic health start to falter, it generally spells bad news for a region. The death of the Columbus Symphony could be one such indicator.
Don't fear about the DPO, though. I'm told they are doing well and are protected against such a fate. Nevertheless, Dayton is likely to see the shrinking of the service sector and consumer commodities. I find this troubling because the region has replaced manufacturing jobs with service sector jobs. They are generally lower paying, part time, and offer little benefits. As bad as service sector jobs can be- it is about to get harder. These are the jobs that are likely to evaporate as times get tough. Industries with many full time workers might start cutting back, with either lay offs, or the decrease of hourly work. Consumer spending could dry up as credit becomes hard to come by. I also expect that big economic development projects will need to rely on more government funds and less private investment. This can be good and bad. Projects like Ballpark Village will need to make more modest plans or could fall apart entirely. Lastly, Dayton will need to deal with the current foreclosure crisis and brace for the next wave, which is likely to hit some time soon.
What are your thoughts about how the crisis will affect Dayton as a region? What are some tactics the city can employ to combat more foreclosures? How should they deal with current foreclosures? Will BRAC be enough to sustain the region in these hard economic times?
These are questions we need to think about rationally. Our economy is filled with lemons. It's time to break out the juicers and make some lemonade.
I love Second Street market. I go every chance I get. I love to go in the morning and get a delicious crepe from Crepe Boheme. I find it comforting to see my favorite farmers and vendors selling their produce and wares. I try to buy as many of my groceries as possible from Second Street Market.
I am publishing this recipe that I created. Every single item can be purchased at the market. Enjoy!
I have included my recipe for Pasta Fresca. This is a family recipe that I am proud to share with you.
Second Street Market Pasta
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh pasta (see recipe bellow.)
2 large Heirloom tomatoes from Ben and Emily of Mile Creek Farm
1/2 pound round of fresh Mozzarella cheese from Blue Jacket Dairy
1/2 cup of fresh Basil (I recommend Mile Creek Farm or Little Creek Gardens)
2 cloves of garlic from Little Creek Gardens
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 -1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to taste (I get mine at the spice rack)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation:
Set pot of water to boil. Cook fresh pasta for approximately 2-3 minutes. Salt water generously.
Dice heirloom tomatoes. Reserve the juice in a separate bowl.
Dice the mozzarella into generous chunks.
Finely dice the garlic cloves. Place garlic cloves, oil, and red pepper flakes in a large frying pan. Heat on medium to low heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic! When the garlic is cooked, carefully whisk the olive oil mixture into the reserved tomato juice. This should make a very fine dressing.
When the pasta is cooked, drain the water. In the same pot, mix the dressing, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Acquilano Family Pasta Fresca
2 1/4 cups semolina flour, plus extra for dusting (I get mine from the Spice Rack).
2 fresh eggs (I like the Pork Lady's eggs the best, though I also like Garber Farm's eggs).
Warm Water
On a large, flat (clean!) surface, Make a mountain with the flour. Make a hole in the middle (it should resemble something like a nest). Crack the two eggs into the hole. Mix with a fork vigorously. Use hands to fully incorporate the egg into the flour. If the dough is too crumbly, add warm water. If the dough is too moist, add more flour. Divide dough into fourths.
I use an Imperia Simplex pasta machine to stretch, flatten, and cut the pasta. You can do this by hand, the old fashion way, using a rolling pin and a knife. Take one fourth, rolling it out once. Cut in Half. Roll out again. Repeat depending on the thickness of pasta desired. You could even use cookie cutters to make fun shapes. My grandmother used to do that when we were kids.
Across the country cities are figuring out what has already been succeeding in cities across the world for some time now - closing downtown streets to automobile traffic - either temporarily or permanently. Vancouver, British Columbia - Canada is known as one of these uber-progressive cities that have organized "Car-Free Days" on various streets in and around their downtown. The following video from Streetfilms.org does a good job at showing just how well this concept is being received:
And this brings me to Dayton - specifically Fifth Street in the Oregon District. Ever since I moved here I've always thought that Fifth Street should be closed to automobile traffic at least on the weekends. I can envision a Fifth Street packed with pedestrians, street performers, street vendors & even dining room extensions from Cafe Boulevard, Pacchia & Trolley Stop. And just imagine an outdoor stage on what is now the parking lot at Fifth and Pine - with local bands entertaining crowds of people strolling along Fifth Street. It isn't that hard to imagine all of this, afterall - Fifth Street IS closed one night a year for the Oregon District HauntFest in October.
Obstacles to this idea are typical traffic engineer small-mindedness that insists that Fifth Street is a major throughway, though Fourth Street can handle additional traffic very easily. Others may say that people like to "cruise" Fifth Street, but folks - it is 2008, not 1955. Finally, there is the ongoing issue of parking - but if you click on the map below you will see that my proposition would only take away the handful of street parking spots that currently exist on Fifth Street.
So what do you think? What other obstacles do you see to this idea? And do you think that city leadership could be convinced to explore this kind of thing?
Feel free to comment below, or join the conversation in our DMM Forum!
Last week on our DMM Forum, I did a quick post about an economic development project happening in Cleveland (and covered by Smart City Radio), and compared it to one economic development project happening in Dayton. After a few received comments and much thought afterward, I decided to go a bit more in depth on the topic and post it here for those who may still read this blog but aren't yet involved on the forum. Besides, it was time for a new post since I've been completely absent here for a long time now...
On a recent SmartCity Radio show, Carol Coletta interviewed Ned Hill - VP of Economic Development at Cleveland State University. "He's combining the Cleveland area's history, talent and expertise" to create the District of Design. This district would take a concentrated area of downtown Cleveland and transform it into the industrial design capital of the U.S." ...
First, I encourage you to listen to the program:
In my opinion, this is what true economic development is all about - taking a city's existing strength and expanding it by using a cluster strategy, partnerships between city government/business sector/universities, and community building. Unlike fad developments, as Mr. Hill explains, this District of Design makes sense because it "connects to the balance sheet" (ie generates revenue). It is ultimately something that will attract more businesses, create more jobs, and grow a "creative class" group of designers based in a part of Downtown Cleveland. And the residual effect is that it brings more life to downtown in the form of more workers - which will ultimately attract more retail and restaurant/bar business. This is economic development - which Mr. Hill eloquently defines as "the art of connecting the dots that nobody else see's".
Dayton is also working on such a district - called Tech Town - but it is moving at a snail's pace and seems to be more about real estate than about actually nurturing a business sector. Sure, there is the technology business incubator (The Entrepreneur Center) that is there now, but I don't see its connection to Tech Town other than simply being its first tenant. Tech Town looks more like a "build it and they will come" real estate proposition. Of course, in the past year the City of Dayton seems to have had its focus not so much on Tech Town as much as the "future"' Ballpark Village - which brings me to the main point of this post...
First, let me say that I've had mixed feelings about BPV from the start. I started out excited about this when it was first announced. Since I live two blocks away I wanted to see this happen - it would be great to have a whole new riverfront destination to walk to from my condo, and it will be nice to see more crowds of people coming downtown. Then again, I do not want to see another generic "lifestyle center" ala The Greene with a bunch of boring chain restaurants that will simply poach customers from our existing independent businesses. And now there isn't even a developer, which makes one wonder if there is actually a market for yet another retail & restaurant cluster in this region. But even more important than all of that is the fact that the city is treating BPV as if it were an economic development project. And while I'm not the first blogger to claim this, I am here to say that BPV is NOT economic development.
BPV is first a real estate project (just like Tech Town), and secondly it is a consumerism project. Consumerism in that it simply offers another venue for consumers to spend money - not a project that city government should be initiating. It will not create jobs other than low-paying service jobs. It will not enhance any existing businesses (other than maybe the Dayton Dragons but as they're still selling out games what help do they need?). And ultimately it does nothing to "connect to the balance sheet" or "connect the dots". Sure, IF the consumers do show up then there is tax revenue to realize - which I imagine is what the city is looking to score. But other than additional tax revenue that might not even make up for the amount of money the city is spending on property acquisitions and whatever tax subsidies it will have to offer in order to attract a developer and tenants, what exactly is BPV going to do in terms of economic development?
This city and region are losing jobs by the thousands these days. Our local economy is in the crapper. Do we really need another consumer-based development? Hell, with more and more people losing jobs and the cost of fuel and food rising to catastrophic levels, can the region even support the restaurants and retail we have now, let alone support a whole slew of new ones? No, as much as I'd personally like to see BPV happen so that I have a new place to walk to and spend my money, I can't say that this will be good for the city or the region in the grander scheme of things.
Instead of trying to be land developers, the city should be working on ways to help support and grow the businesses and industry we have here now. Tech Town is a good place to start since it is already underway - instead of relying on the "build it and they will come" strategy that seems to be in place now, focus on fostering the partnerships between government, business and universities that will help to create a true cluster. Make this much more than a real estate proposition and Tech Town may just succeed. Focus on the other areas of downtown instead of ignoring them like is happening now (how many empty buildings do we currently have?). Work with area developers on ways to not only rehab and reuse our existing building stock, but also put real plans in place that will actually encourage development. Residential is a good place to start, but even that must be part of a bigger plan.
Ballpark Village is not the type of development the city should be trying to accomplish. Listen to the story about the Cleveland District of Design and you'll get a better sense of what a true economic development project looks like.
I've posted this on the DMM Forum - if you wish to comment on this then sign up and get involved in the conversation there.
Check out a relatively new website for Air City Dayton which is a company interested in developing a tourist industry here using the aviation theme. Whatever you think of the idea, their brand "Dayton -- there's something in the air!" is a lot catchier than "Get Midwest -- We think of everything." Check out the site. I don't agree with everything they're saying, but I wish them luck. It sounds as if they have some serious organizations behind them. Still, there's always the money.
This coming weekend (Friday June 6, Saturday June 7) get on down to the
Second Street Market for the 2008 National City Ohio Wine Fest! Here
are some of the participating Ohio wineries:
Live Jazz Entertainment Adult Sampler (21 and over) tickets $20 includes ($15 presale):
* Entry into festival grounds * Souvenir wine glass * 10 sampling tickets (additional may be purchased at $.50 each) * Purchase wines by the glass
Designated driver / youth (16 and over) tickets $5 includes:
* Entry into festival grounds * Purchase wines by the bottle from the carry-out store (21 and over only) ~ To go purchase only - may NOT sample wines
Presale adult tickets may be purchased for $15 at:
* National City 2nd Street Market - www.2ndstmarket.com * Dayton Area National City branch locations
And on Saturday....
Exciting Event Happenings:
* Ohio wines by the sample, glass or bottle and souvenir wine glasses available * Craft demonstrations by regional artisans * Live Local Music * Market merchants selling locally produced vegetables, meats, breads * PT Cruiser Car Show * Miami Valley Grown (local foods booth) offering FREE samples * Homemade Breakfast, Brunch, and Lunch served
Bands & Musicians: 11:00 AM Tim Jennens and Randy Villars 1:15 PM Puzzle of LIght 3:30 PM Danny Voris Trio 5:45 PM Dan Rivers
This
is a great event that I attended last year - lots of people and a great
time! And as somebody who turned his nose up at any wine from Ohio, I
can honestly tell you that many of the wines are actually quite good. Click Here to read what people are saying....
Just hours ago today, neighborhood representatives from South Park who traveled to Hampton, VA. for the Neighborhoods, USA conference learned that their beautiful Historic South Park neighborhood right here in Dayton, OH WON for the category of Physical Revitalization!
Any of you who are regular MostMetro visitors (and especially those of you who are members on our DMM Forum) already know that South Park is one of Dayton's true gem neighborhoods. And while the award they won was due to the hard work that has gone into rehabbing the stunning old houses back to their original glory (and then some), they could have just as easily won for the category of Social Revitalization - because this is about as tight-knit a community as you will ever see. An amazing feat seeing that South Park is the largest historic district in Dayton (and one of the largest in Ohio).
And just like most Fridays, it will be standing room only at the South Park Tavern as the neighborhood celebrates its accomplishment. Congratulations, South Park - you are truly an amazing community! If you want to read more from the residents themselves, check out our forum post South Park - America's Neighborhood of the Year?.
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