Business leaders, political officials and university leaders gathered at the Southeast Michigan Regional Stakeholders Event at Washtenaw Community College on Friday to discuss collaborative ways to boost Michigan. One of the themes was boosting Michigan’s workforce and distressed cities.

Here are Ann Arbor Business Review’s Top 5 ways to boost Michigan’s distressed cities.

1. Educating Michigan’s existing workforce. Programs like Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind are critical to preparing workers for the new economy.

2. Providing internships to college students. Young people, who prefer cities to suburbs, are more likely to stay in Michigan when they have completed an internship.

3. Embracing urban agricultural. Demolishing abandoned buildings and turning abandoned buildings back into farmland creates jobs and improves land use.

4. Unleashing hidden capital. Enticing rich private investors to embrace philanthropic efforts is a creative way to boost neighborhoods and small businesses.

5. Investing in early-stage education. There’s no better way to revitalize urban areas than to invest in K-12 education.