Canton Repository Guest Editorial June 2019

                                                                               

Recurring themes in stories about Canton and Stark County concern the loss of population, flat incomes, and the advancing age of our residents. Stark County’s population is the same today as it was in 1970.  We are losing our young people. Common to many cities of the “rust belt”, the population is getting older and less prosperous. Young people leave for bigger cities and better jobs. What is mentioned less is that this process has been going on for forty years. I know this because I was one of those who left.

I grew up in Canton and graduated from GlenOak. I had a great childhood but couldn’t wait to leave. In 1975 I moved to Columbus for school and found a vibrant, exciting, growing city.  I had always felt somehow stifled in Canton.  I wanted more choices, more diversity, and more excitement.    

It isn’t rocket science to figure out why young folks leave the area, and why other young families don’t come here.  All you need do is ask them.  Social scientists, urban planners, and researchers have conducted innumerable studies and focus groups over the years, and they’ve learned that millennials and those younger, want to live in cities that have diversity, character, cultural and entertainment choices, and public transit.  They want walkability, downtown living, and cultural variety. Those under 40 are less interested in monochromatic neighborhoods, car ownership, and suburbia.  They want to feel connected; they want transportation options, green spaces, and public gathering places.

Most of all they want diversity. These new generations are the most diverse in American history, and the cities in America that are successful, like Seattle, Boston, Chicago and Washington DC, are bustling with Americans of Asian, Latin, and Middle eastern backgrounds.  Americans under 40 have largely rejected the old racial divisions of black vs. white, and now prefer to live and work with a kaleidoscope of people of different ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles. 

Certainly jobs are critically important, but it isn’t only that people follow jobs. Businesses and employers also follow people and look at demographics.  The fast growing and high paying tech and information companies are choosing to locate in areas with strong education programs and younger, diverse populations.  They locate where their potential employees and customers live.  It is why smart cities invest in education, downtown development, and public transit. It’s why cities like Denver, Portland and Salt Lake City thrive.

There isn’t a single successful city in America that does not have a visible vibrant LGBT community. Look no further than Columbus to see how a town that recognized and embraced its gay community became the most successful and fastest growing city in Ohio.  Whole neighborhoods were rejuvenated and reborn, and its glittering downtown is full of life.  Festivals bring people to the city core all summer long. The annual Gay Pride Parade and festival, which began in 1982, now brings hundreds of thousands of people to its downtown each June, along with millions of dollars in economic activity. 

 I later lived in Detroit, an area that epitomized urban decay and the hollowing out of our cities.  Friends suggested I was “rowing back to the Titanic”.  In 1990 I settled in a small blue-collar city on the border of Detroit.  Ferndale was getting older, less prosperous, and losing population. The downtown was an empty beige canyon.  But we began to promote the city as a place that welcomed everyone, including artists, musicians, gay people, and others in the “creative class”.  We started music festivals and pride marches. We empowered our Downtown Development Authority to bring in new restaurants and nightclubs and placed greenery and baskets of flowers downtown. We changed ordinances to allow patio dining, and soon the city began to revive.  We made the city walkable with new streetlights and sidewalks. Above all we made sure that the welcome mat was out for everyone.  There was initial resistance to the growing LGBT community, but when neighborhoods blossomed and property values skyrocketed, that resistance melted away. Today there is a building boom going on, the downtown is full of color and life, and the largest demographic is people aged 25 to 34.  Even Detroit is coming back. It is rebuilding its downtown and building public transportation options even while embracing its past.  It has become cool and young urban pioneers of every stripe are moving to the city.

Canton is making strides in the right direction, with a budding arts district and a growing music scene.  Farsighted developers are trying to build apartments and living spaces downtown. We have amazing restaurants and taverns. Events like the annual Blues Festival, Saturday concerts and First Fridays are bringing people into the city.  Groups like ArtsinStark do amazing work but we must redouble our efforts.

 We cannot hang our hats solely on football and trying to bring back 1950’s era jobs. The dominant colors as one travels downtown are too often the dusty grays of concrete and tans faded brick. Regional leaders must temper sclerotic policies that push suburban sprawl.  The fate of the region is inextricably tied to the success of our cities.

Business, religious, and political leaders must begin to aggressively welcome young people, ethnic and racial minorities, and LGBT people to the community.  Such diversity is not just to be tolerated or even recognized, but should be promoted, embraced and celebrated. Such actions will help bring tech, information, and environmental companies that now fuel the new economy of the 21st century.

It’s ironic that as Stark County gets older and less populated, there are thousands of young families and children from Central America stuck in holding pens on our southern border seeking to legally immigrate to our country.  Immigrants built Canton in the last two centuries, and they can be the customers, workers and residents for the next one. 

I moved back to Canton last year because I have family here, and because it has great parks, a low cost of living, and the friendliest people in the Midwest.  Folks are working hard to make it better, and the potential is limitless if we think smart and work together.    

Craig Covey was a human rights activist in Columbus, Ohio and a health educator for the Michigan Department of Public Health.  He was a City Councilman and Mayor of Ferndale, Michigan, and an Oakland County Commissioner.