As the state representative who represents the majority of Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone, I’m astounded by doubts about its return on investment. I see them daily and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s recent study showed beyond question just how successful that investment has been , not just for the city, but our entire region. It might seem like the fortunes of downtowns are distant in their importance to the communities which surround them, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank looked at 58 metropolitan areas between 1970 and 2000, finding that the faster a metro area’s city grew, the faster its suburbs grew. Conversely, the slower that an area’s city grew, the slower their suburbs grew. Cities and suburbs held a shared fortune.
Our future, prosperity, economic opportunity, and quality of life are bound together. That’s why the LVPC study determined that “successful downtowns are essential to successful prosperous regions”. Downtowns offer a variety of amenities that are critical to attracting and retaining residents and in turn employers.
Recent research from the Brookings Institute, a nationally renowned policy organization, determined that quality of life investments resulted in better economic growth than traditional policies affecting business climate. Things like outdoor recreation, cultural amenities, parks, public spaces and leisure activity were far more effective in growing the economy. .