The focus on creating world class communities for the people of Michigan is getting stronger through a new online presence from the Community Development team at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation called MIPlace.
Totally dedicated to community development and placemaking in the state of Michigan, the new website MIPlace.org is a one-stop shop for detailed information on such things Redevelopment Ready Communities to the Michigan Main Street programming that has made key communities like Niles and Boyne City superstars in the community development arena.
The Community Development team at the MEDC gathered content and many related documents from their various programs for communities, developers and individuals who might be interested in topics ranging from brownfield development tools to crowdfunding, redevelopment efforts and more all organized into the new digital home found by clicking this link: http://www.MiPlace.org.
Katharine Czarnecki is Senior Vice President of Community Development at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in Lansing. She says, “Our goals with miplace.org were to increase awareness of the great places in our communities, provide knowledge for those communities to make their places better, and to make it easier to access the tools and programs we offer to help.”
Community Development programs like Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC), Michigan Main Street, and Public Spaces, Community Places (PSCP) have their own presence on the new website, and an online Resource Library offers access to hundreds of documents and other reference materials.
Interested users can also connect with the Community Development team on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on program announcements and other current news.
The crew at the MEDC Community Development department is of the opinion that every community has its own unique identity. That identity is best defined by the community itself. That’s the philosophy behind their whole approach. Instead of taking a reactive position to developer-driven projects, the MEDC CD team is working alongside communities to be proactive about realizing the patterns of growth and investment most desired at the local level. In short, they are looking for community driven development that embraces local identity.
The MEDC team knows that community quality and economic prosperity are top priorities for everyone—businesses and residents alike. In the past, community quality was considered a secondary benefit to successfully connecting business to labor, and labor to employment.
As local, regional, and even national demographics have shifted, this traditional two-way “business-talent” connection has also shifted to a three-way “business-talent-place” connection. Adding a place-focused dimension makes Michigan more competitive for the global talent base.
The entire approach focuses on creating a “sense of place”—or just “placemaking.” It’s based on a single principle: people choose to settle in places that offer the amenities, social and professional networks, and resources and opportunities to support a thriving lifestyle. Michigan can attract and retain talent—especially young, knowledge-based talent—by focusing on how best to take advantage of the unique placemaking assets of regional communities.
Click the link to learn more about the assets and resources available for communities and developers alike who would like to continue to advance the Pure Michigan image as a great place to live, work and play togther.
