Tonight I am giving the keynote address at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies dinner about my experiences community and regional economic development. For my midweek links, I thought I would give you a sneak peak at my remarks.
There are three tenets that have guided me during my years on the front lines of housing and community development:
- Collaboration is essential: Across the region, in places as different as the tony North Shore and the blue collar south suburbs, local mayors have started to work with neighboring communities to tackle shared housing challenges. They are beginning to understand that markets go beyond municipal borders. Perhaps the most powerful example is in south Cook County: the South Suburban Housing and Economic Development Collaborative. The group comprises 21 towns that have joined forces to address the nearly 18,000 foreclosure filings in their area since 2007. When the federal government announced help would be coming, the communities made the remarkable decision to submit a joint application for funding, rather than compete with one another over crumbs
- Plans should have a measurable goal: In 2008, MPC studied metropolitan Chicago’s roads and found that excess traffic congestion costs our region $7.3 billion every year – that’s enough to cover the City of Chicago’s budget for the next two years! These costs include wasted time and fuel, plus opportunity costs. Here’s how. Businesses lose big money when their goods and their workers are stuck in gridlock; our researchers calculated that companies in metro Chicago don’t create about 87,000 jobs a year due to the money wasted while trapped in traffic. Considering that Illinois recorded a 10.7 percent unemployment rate in April of this year, that’s a ripple effect that the overall economy and the housing sector can’t afford.
- Must take a 360 view to remain competitive: A 360-degree view means paying attention to the details – measuring and communicating results is what will keep us competitive. Consider that an analysis of MPC’s partnership with the University of Chicago’s employer-assisted housing program shows the average driving distance for participating employees has dropped, from nearly 6 miles one-way to about 1.5 miles for a savings of about $400 per year on driving costs. In the most dramatic example, one employee was driving 30 miles each way to work and now lives less than three miles from campus. Others just wanted to live close enough to work to walk or take transit, rather than drive. Opening up this opportunity to live closer to work means pocketbook saving, a cleaner climate, and happierm more productive employees.
It’s no simple feat to be successful in changing public policies, and there are no cookie cutter solutions. But what the Metropolitan Planning Council and the greater Chicagoland region have found is that with collaboration, clear goals, and eyes wide open, we’re making progress.