An outline for restoring prosperity to Dayton; New study says growth is on the way - if changes favoring schools and safety are made

BYLINE: By Jim DeBrosse Staff Writer

Economic development experts call them "the young and the restless" - those creative, educated 25-to-34-yearolds who are needed to fill the jobs being vacated by seniors and to drive the information-based regional economies of the 21st century.

With manufacturing on the decline, Ohio and Dayton have seen too many of those young and restless types move away in recent decades. But now, according to a study released today by The Brookings Institution, older industrial cities such as Dayton have a chance to woo them back, as well as their empty-nester parents in the suburbs.

A variety of demographic and market trends are converging so that urban environments such as Dayton's - with walking neighborhoods, plenty of universities and hospitals, numerous cultural offerings and a lack of congestion - have a new appeal that can be used to regenerate the economies of the entire region.

From 1970 to 2000, the study found, the number of 25-to-34-year-olds living in a sample of the country's downtowns grew 90 percent, and their share of the overall downtown population nearly doubled from 13 percent to 25 percent.

And while many larger cities are reaching their threshold for attracting newcomers, hidden gems like Dayton - with a low cost of living, relatively clean air and few traffic hassles - await only some badly-needed reinvestment to get them back in the game.

"Seize the moment" is the advice from the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank that studied the winners and losers among the nation's 302 largest cities. The authors then crammed their recommendations into an 80-plus page report titled "Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities."

The authors say state officials must take the lead in coordinating a regional, collaborative approach to economic development, in investing in key urban assets such as mass transit and historic preservation and in leveling the playing field between city and suburbs in terms of taxation, housing, transportation and income.

If cities win, the authors say, their entire regions will benefit from an influx of new talent, new jobs and new commerce.

Ohio and regional economic development officials insist they already have strategies in place that agree with the Brookings study. But they admit there are hurdles ahead, especially the task of recasting Ohio's schools to educate the workforce of the new economy and to attract workers who will want to send their children to urban schools.

Kimberly Gordon, special assistant for energy, transportation and regional collaboration in the Ohio Department of Economic Development, said Gov. Ted Strickland's campaign platform, "Turnaround Ohio," has nearly all the elements of the Brookings study.

"The (state) policy of the last 20 years has been managing the decline (of cities) and ignoring the many assets they have," she said. "We're already changing that."

The new administration is pumping more money into public transit, she said, including $2 million to leverage private sector interest in developing rapid rail transit. Other strategies include tax credits for historic preservation and for investing in urban neighborhoods, and incubators to help launch new technology firms by offering them flexible office space, shared computing facilities and business mentors.

To keep local governments from poaching businesses from each other with tax cuts and other incentives, the administration is offering its own tax incentives to Ohio communities that sign "non-compete" agreements and work to support regional growth.

Dayton area development officials likewise say they are in synch with the Brookings recommendations. Membership in the Dayton Development Coalition, which has long favored a regional, collaborative approach to economic development, has grown from two local governments to 17 and from about 100 businesses to 180 in the last four years, said coalition president J.P. Nauseef.

"The stage is set for us to re-emerge," he said. "It's only a matter of time."

City economic development officials are busy finalizing "Citiplan 2020," which includes a vision for a downtown Tech Town where young workers would be able to "live, work and play" with their jobs, housing and amenities all within walking distance.

Fixing the basics first

But the Brookings study also warned that states must first fix the basics, making sure that urban schools are doing their job and that urban neighborhoods are safe. Otherwise, trying to attract "the creative class" to urban areas won't work no matter how many other assets are enhanced.

So what can be done about the quality of Ohio's urban schools and the state funding mess illustrated by the recent defeat of the Dayton Public Schools operating levy?

"Obviously, some things have been tried previously, and this governor has to decide what he wants to do next," Gibson said. Many of Ohio's school funding problems will be solved, she said, with a return to prosperity. "You fix the prosperity problem, you fix everything," she said. "That's what Turnaround Ohio is all about."

But Richard Stock, director of the Business Research Group at the University of Dayton, disagrees. "How can you possibly move forward (as a state) if you've simply decided not to educate the public to the degree necessary to meet the requirements of the modern economy?" he said.

"At this point, the upper middle class (in Ohio) is not at all convinced it wants to have a government and a school system that operates to educate the poor."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or jdebrosse@DaytonDailyNews.com