Last week the Land Policy Institute (LPI) at Michigan State University released a study summary that for biking and trail advocates only reinforces the obvious: this region needs to make prioritized investments to improving biking, walking, and trail opportunities in order to retain and attract residents.

The report, Chasing the Past or Investing in Our Future: Placemaking for Prosperity in the New Economy, emphasizes the need to attract three specific categories of residents in order to grow in the new knowledge-based economy: young workers, retirees and well-educated immigrants.

Currently, Michigan lags “far behind” most other states in achieving this.

Michigan does poorly in nabbing the highly desired 25- to 34-year-old age group–the so-called Generations X and Y. Michigan sits nearly 15 percent below the national average and in the company of states like North Dakota and Kansas–not with leaders, such as Colorado and Georgia.

According to Dr. Soji Adelaja, the report’s lead author:

The winners will be those regions that build strategies and bolster vibrant urban cores, green recreation opportunities and diverse, entrepreneurial populations, among other assets.

In the Old Economy, people moved somewhere new or lived somewhere for 30 years because that was where their jobs were. Not anymore. People who create the most jobs directly and indirectly are also those people moving to those places in the country that have the best amenities and quality of life. They are seeking places first, not jobs first.

One item we’d add is our region often fails to market what green recreation we have. Metro Detroit has a very respectable collection of singletrack trails and rail-trails. Urban biking in the city of Detroit is top-notch.

Perhaps it’s our Motor City moniker that leads many to believe we lack these green facilities.

Either way, Michigan will not be competitive hanging out with the likes of North Dakota and Kansas.