News & Events

March 6, 2007

Crafting an Image

Q.         
Dear Suburbs Alliance:  I just got back from Chattanooga, TN – a wonderful place that my boyfriend dragged me to because he read about the train station there.  While it was definitely romantic, what I noticed most is that it’s not all that different from metro Detroit . . . hey, we’ve got The Henry Ford!  The thing is, people flock there for vacation.  It’s hard to imagine that about our corner of the world.  What’s the deal?

- Christine P.

A.         
Dear Christine,

You're right that southeast Michigan can offer just about everything any other region can.  If you live here, you know that.  It’s our reputation beyond our borders that poses serious challenges for us, and that’s a hard-earned standing that is going to take both positive messaging and proactive reforms to overcome.  That’s the focus of our March 23rd Regional Redevelopment Summit this year, where you can learn great strategies for hyping up what’s great about Metro Detroit and honing in on those things that need to be torn down and rebuilt.

People travel here for the Art Fairs in Ann Arbor, world-class rockers in venues like DTE Energy Music Theater or the Fox, Tiger baseball, events like the North American International Auto Show, the list goes on . . . Truly there is no shortage of great things to do in our region, and, generally speaking, we’re prepared to accommodate with a wide range of hotels and restaurants.  And rental cars.  Forget it if you think you’ll be able to explore Detroit without your own vehicle. 

Lack of public transportation is only a symptom of a much more complex dilemma facing the region’s residents and leaders.  In “The Vital Center:  A Federal-State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region,” John Austin notes a culture of insularity that pervades our region and results in economic and social segregation that heavily impede our economic development and the growth of our national reputation.  One notable challenge we face is transforming an off-putting environment into one that is rooted in inclusion, access and equity. 

We first need to share our successes with the world.  At the Summit, we’ll hear from a wide range of people who care deeply about how we market our region:

• Jim Townsend of the Tourism Economic Development Council and Michael Finney from Ann Arbor SPARK share their strategies for building regional brands – creating a new national reputation for southeast Michigan;
• Bill Milliken, Jr. from Milliken Realty and Doug Brown from ASTI Environmental will give their perspectives as developers on what it takes to sell “place” in our region; and
• Paul Schutt, publisher and co-CEO of Issue Media Group (responsible for the online hits www.ModelDMedia.com and www.MetromodeMedia.com here in southeast Michigan) talks about how to create demand for cities and regions by advancing “alternative narratives” focused on investment, growth, and thought leaders for the new economy.

We cannot neglect the dire need for policy change, though.  Late last fall a coalition of the region’s major nonprofits formed to develop a regional agenda around our most pressing issues, like economic prosperity, regional transit and race relations.  “One D” is seeding change through local action, but our problems also demand bigger public policy solutions – answers that only government can provide effectively. 

Getting out of our regional box and becoming a place that others will flock to as eagerly as they seek Chattanooga for vacation, Austin for jump-starting a career or Minneapolis for building a business will take some major reforms.  At the front of it all has to be a policy agenda that enhances the personal prosperity of everyone in the region.  That means fair-share affordable housing programs, guarantees of basic and catastrophic health care coverage, access to higher education for every resident, and equity in our K-12 school system which gives us the competitive edge over the course of generations. 

Equally important, our cities themselves need to be stabilized, and that takes capital.  The state Legislature needs to take up a series of reforms recommended by a blue-ribbon panel set up by Governor Granholm last year.  The Task Force on Local Government Services and Fiscal Stability proposed at least three reforms that are essential if our cities are going to have the resources to create the high quality of life we see in other regions:  fully fund revenue sharing (a state program giving cash to cities out of the sales tax), give locals more flexibility for revenue generation through regional tax programs, and amend 1994’s Proposal A tax cap so that a declining housing market doesn’t take a double-toll on city coffers.

Southeast Michigan can indeed be a great place to live, but every time someone moves out to get a better job, to invest in a community with safer streets, to find diversity in their neighborhood, or to escape the burden of our commuter culture, our region takes a little hit.  With government, nonprofits, businesses and citizens working together, we can start to take the sting out of our national reputation by touting the amazing assets we have and being serious about the changes we need to make to create a higher quality of life for anyone who sees opportunity in the Metro Detroit community.

Have a question for Conan?  Send it to sharon@suburbsalliance.org to have it answered in the Corkboard!