Demographic & Housing Trends

Supporting Affordable Housing &

Placemaking as an Economic

Development Tool

By Mark A. Wyckoff, FAICP, Professor, MSU Land Policy InstituteMarch 14, 2016, Chicago

Wyckoff@msu.edu

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From Work Prepared as Part of the MIplacePartnership Initiative• Governor Snyder

• Sense of Place Council

• Lead State Agency: MSHDA

• Other state agencies: MEDC, MDOT, MDARD, MDNR, MDEQ, Land Bank

• Many local partners

• www.MIplace.org

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Affordable Housing in Isolation is Missed Opportunities

• Affordable housing needs are wide and varied

• Some needs are temporary and some lengthy

• Most new affordable units fail to locate within walking distance of new and emerging job markets leaving target residents out of competition for those jobs – unless transit is excellent

• Land prices are often higher there, creates problems unless the units are affordable as a percentage of total market rate units

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Greatest Synergies Surround Placemaking (PM)

• PM = process of creating quality places where people want to live, work, play, shop, learn or visit.

• PM used for talent attraction

• PM used to improve global competitiveness –competitors are half a world away

• PM requires quality places – because talented people choose location first – because they can – they then look for or create a job

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Who are Talented Workers?

• Knowledge workers

• Creative class

• Entrepreneurs

– Of any age, and are often immigrants

• Talented workers look for dense urban activity centers with lots to do and people around to interact with

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CEDAM

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• Quality Places to Live, Work & Play!

• Active/dynamic living environment with lots of fun:

– Entertainment, recreation, cultural amenities, social interaction, and diverse cultural and ethnic experiences.

• Amenities driven: parks, outdoors, thriving farms, sports, hunting, fishing, waterways, greenery, etc.

• Diverse lifestyle choices:

– Multi-modal transportation (especially transit), housing type and range of prices, density range.

• Business and entrepreneurial opportunities:

– Creativity, risk taking, good market for innovation,

high wage jobs.

What are Talented People Looking for?

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MSU Land Policy Institute, 2009

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By the Numbers88% of Millennials want to live in traditional neighborhoods, downtowns, and urban core places

72% of households will be without children by 2025

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Historicmonroe.org

MML

wikimedia

Wall Street Journal, 2011

Growing Demand Presents New Opportunities

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Gibbs Planning Group (with data from Arthur C. Nelson), remade with permission by the MSU Land Policy Institute.

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Housing Stock

Too Much of This Not Enough of This

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Mark Jones, PZCGoogle Earth

Ralaric Farms subdivision in Dexter East Lansing mixed use development

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TMA Approach to Residential Market Analysis• Measures market potential, not market demand.

• TMA studies done in other U.S. cities have proven to be accurate if not too conservative and opened up new markets that were previously unmet.

• TMA analyses follow the place type transect.

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Lower Missing Middle

Upper Missing Middle

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Defining Characteristics of Missing Middle Housing

–A walkable context.

–Medium density but lower perceived densities.

–Small footprint and blended densities.

–Smaller, well-designed units.

–These can be affordable units.

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Use Walkscore or Alternative to Rank Projects

• Walkability, proximity to essential services and amenities and access to many modes of transportation are essential for good quality of life.

• Walkscore is a surrogate for many of these factors.

• MSU Land Policy Institute is presently creating and soon will test a new metric as an alternative to Walkscore.

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• Placemaking Guidebook available for FREE:

• www.landpolicy.msu.edu

• Placemaking as an Economic Development Tool is title of book.

Thank You! For more information visit:www.MIplace.org

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