Introduction to Refashioning Our Parking Regulations and Development Choices for Fiscal Health – #3
Planning The Post-Pandemic American Future
The Hudson County Economic Development Corporation, the County of Hudson, and McManimon, Scotland, & Baumann, LLC present a three-part series featuring global experts in the fields of planning, transportation, and municipal finance. The series will explore the need to create walkable, pedestrian-friendly cities as a larger part of proactive economic development attraction and retention strategies to build resilient local economies.
Cities and suburbs are, at their core, labor markets. Studies have shown (the most recent from MIT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia), that walkable cities with strong civic design attract more college graduates and achieve significantly higher economic growth. Yet, many of our municipalities are still plagued by a glut of parking and pedestrian unfriendly streets, designed for cars, that increase pollution and limit social interaction. The new wave of the workforce—Gen Z, Millennials, and even Gen X before them—need walkable, bike-friendly neighborhoods and cities, now popularly termed the “The 15-Minute City.” Multiple studies have shown their willingness to pay a premium to live in such places and that American society pays a steep price for having too few of them. By challenging our assumptions about what is possible, the Series intends to help us better understand and overcome the obstacles to making the “15-Minute City” a reality.
Approved for continuing education credit.
