Urban Areas Going Younger
"Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment," |
Living downtown is becoming increasingly appealing to college-educated 20- and 30-somethings.
In two-thirds of the country's 51 largest cities, the college-educated population in the past decade has grown twice as fast within 3 miles of urban centers when compared to the rest of the metro area, the USA Today reports. That is a jump of 26 percent, on average, compared with 13 percent in other parts.
Young adults with higher education, in particular, seem to be showing a preference for urban living. Young adults with a four-year degree are about 94 percent more likely to live near urban neighborhoods than less-educated young professionals. (In 2000, that number was about 61 percent.)
Even floundering downtowns are attracting more young people. For example, Detroit, which has faced a 25 percent drop in its population since 2000, has added 59 percent (or 2,000) young and educated residents during that time, according to Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.
Looking to keep the young vibe going strong, Detroit even has recently launched a campaign — ”15 by 15” — to bring 15,000 young, educated professionals to live in the downtown by 2015. To do that, they are offering cash incentives: A $25,000 forgivable loan to buy a home in downtown and stay there for at least five years or $3,500 on a two-year lease.
In Cleveland — another hard-hit metro area that has lost 17 percent of its population — young professionals are also re-emerging. Cleveland has increased its number of college-educated professionals between ages 25 to 34 who live downtown by 49 percent (or 1,300).
"Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment," Carol Coletta, who heads CEOs for Cities, told USA Today.
Source: USA Today (April 1, 2011) |
Young and educated show preference for urban living
Even shrinking cities see more moving downtown
By Haya El Nasser
USA TODAY
Educated 20- and 30-somethings are flocking to live downtown in the USA's largest cities — even urban centers that are losing population.
In more than two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts.
Even in Detroit, where the population shrank by 25% since 2000, downtown added 2,000 young and educated residents during that time, up 59% , according to analysis of Census data by Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.
"This is a real glimmer of hope," says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. "Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment."
In Cleveland, which lost 17% of its population, downtown added 1,300 college-educated people ages 25 to 34, up 49%.
"It tells us we've been on the right track," says David Egner, president and CEO of Detroit's Hudson-Webber Foundation. Three anchor institutions — Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center — recently launched "15 by 15," a campaign to bring 15,000 young, educated people to the downtown area by 2015.
Among the lures are cash incentives: a $25,000 forgivable loan to buy (need to stay at least five years) downtown or $3,500 on a two-year lease.
Preference for urban living among young adults — especially the well-educated — has increased sharply, data show:
•In 2000, young adults with a four-year degree were about 61% more likely to live in close-in urban neighborhoods than their less-educated counterparts. Now, they are about 94% more likely.
•In five metropolitan areas — Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington — about two-thirds of young adults who live in the city center have at least a four-year college degree. Less than a third of the nation's 25- to 34-year-olds do.
"This is no longer anecdotal," Coletta says. "Every metro area has good suburbs, but if you don't have a strong downtown and close-in neighborhoods, then you're not offering a choice that many of them are seeking. Offering that choice is a real competitive advantage for cities."
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