As Detroit declines, is Ann Arbor 'the new gravitational center for the state'?
Detroit's astonishing descent, reflected in the population figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census, is a sobering reminder of the steep climb Michigan faces out of this economic mess.
To revitalize Michigan, Detroit must be "on the path to being a great city" again, as Gov. Rick Snyder has said repeatedly.
But what role is there for Ann Arbor?
PBS NewsHour's Patchwork Nation suggests that Ann Arbor wants to "become the new gravitational center for the state."
Is that what we want? In a word, no.
Regions don't generate jobs, people do. And we need to find ways to cultivate a more talented, entrepreneurial base of workers to accelerate the economy.
For Michigan to return to economic vitality, all of the major regions throughout the state need to find ways to boost entrepreneurs, engage universities in economic development, and encourage people to retrain and earn college degrees.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp., led by former Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Michael Finney, can play a big role in reconfiguring the state's economic development network to focus on grassroots services instead of tax credit distribution.
But the pace of the state's economic recovery will be determined by the innovation of the business community -- a pace determined by the quality of talent businesses are able to attract.
People like to say that the automotive industry turned Michigan into an economic powerhouse. But it was really Henry Ford's creation of the assembly line — an innovation that revolutionized manufacturing, created jobs and accelerated the industrial revolution — that made Michigan great.
Now, we need another assembly line in the form of fresh innovation nurtured by the automotive industry, manufacturers like Dow Chemical, battery makers like Johnson Controls, solar energy companies like Hemlock Semiconductor and startup tech companies like Pittsfield Township-based Accio Energy.
I've got good news: Michigan has cool, innovative places to work. Yes, I said it. There are jobs here at innovative companies.
In a story today, Bloomberg, citing statistics from job-listing website Dice Holdings Inc., called Metro Detroit "the fastest-expanding region in the country."
That's largely because General Motors and Ford are scrambling to find qualified job candidates for high-tech engineering jobs, including software programming, a critical element to the success of electric vehicles.
GM reportedly said yesterday that, by later this year, it will be at "full employment" — meaning everyone who was laid off will be back to work.
“There’s a war for talent out there, and it’s only going to get worse,” Jim Bazner, vice president of human capital solutions at Southfield-based high-tech auto recruiter MSX International, told Bloomberg. “There are hundreds of jobs, and all the automakers are hiring.”
The auto industry's hiring surge is a direct result of the industry's sales recovery. University of Michigan economists recently projected that U.S. sales of light vehicles will rise from 11.5 million in 2010 to 13.1 million in 2011, 15.1 million in 2012 and 15.9 million in 2013.
If sales reach 16 million in 2013, it doesn't matter what Snyder does — Michigan's job market will be at its best point in at least a decade.
Nonetheless, the auto industry cannot rebuild Michigan on its own. The manufacturing industry is growing gradually today — but it will never get back to what it once was. Don't wait for it, because it's not going to happen.
The collapse in Michigan's economy left a permanent scar: the decimation of the manufacturing sector, which now accounts for about 463,000 jobs in a total Michigan labor force of 4.84 million, according to U-M estimates.
The manufacturing industry's future success will be determined by the types of technology workers Ford and GM are hiring.
And Ann Arbor is a key source of that talent. Innovation is the focus of the 1,000-person engineering force at the Toyota Technical Center in York Township and Ann Arbor Township, the 170-person Hyundai Kia America Technical Center and the dozens of other auto R&D centers in Washtenaw County.
Yes, Ann Arbor must play a key role in rebuilding Michigan by getting more economic benefits out of the $1 billion in research conducted by U-M, fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial community and helping mid-size businesses grow.
The most important thing the Ann Arbor region has to offer is its talent, because it's talented workers that will generate the innovation Michigan needs to return to economic strength.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
David Paris
Mon, Mar 28, 2011 : 11:18 a.m.
Does Patchwork Nation really know what they are talking about? I don't think so. The "gravitational center" shifted from Detroit to Oakland county decades ago. Ann Arbor is not fighting for it, we (most of us) are happy just to keep plugging along, doing what we do, and hoping for the best. In fact, with our new governor in place, we may even start losing some gravity as Umich loses government funding.
xmo
Sun, Mar 27, 2011 : 12:16 p.m.
I guess that's all we need is a "Kwame Kilpatrick" to take us to the next level. That should not be too hard to find since both city's are run by the same party.
David Muzzatti
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 5:19 p.m.
Ann Arbor succeeds in one important aspect of the new world economic order - IT EMBRACES GLOBALIZATION. Ann Arbor is not afraid to court foreign automakers, parts suppliers, or other important foreign industries to the region. Having said that, it would take several generations to become a gravitational center of the state . The bad news? I suspect Dave Bing will be trying to broker a deal this year with the IMF for a 75-year loan.
63Townie
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 5:11 p.m.
Black holes are often the gravitational centers of galaxies so I'd say Ann Arbor fits that bill...my city taxes suck up so much of my checking account nothing else escapes.
FabioFulci
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 4:30 p.m.
Why is everyone so desperate to be the center of the universe?
Basic Bob
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 4:56 p.m.
Because they want to be next to me!
mw
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 4:29 p.m.
Ann Arbor might replace Detroit, though, (to some extent, maybe it already has) as the 'urban gathering place' for SE Michigan. You live in metro Detroit and you want to, say, tailgate before a football game, watch the game, and then wander around until late in the evening hitting the bars and restaurants. Does that work better for a Lions or Wolverines game? Or, say you're going to take in an evening musical performance, have a nice dinner before and coffee afterwards. Would you feel more comfortable (and have more options) doing that at the Fisher or Fox...or Hill Auditorium? The whole city of Detroit is much bigger than Ann Arbor, of course, but Downtown Detroit really isn't that much bigger than downtown Ann Arbor. It's a mile and a half from Michigan Stadium to Zingerman's down Main Street. It's two and a half from the DIA to Cobo Hall along Woodward. Which walk would you rather make?
treetowncartel
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 11:26 p.m.
Try getting away from the gravitational pull of Birmingham and Royal Oak, just outside of the center of the Universe, or over on the East side by Lake St. Clair some summer evening.
a2why
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 3:32 p.m.
Why not? According to the other article, Ann Arbor is already the gravitational center for panhandling.
Top Cat
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 3:14 p.m.
Before we become the centerof anything, we need a minor league baseball team.
f4phantomII
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 7:15 p.m.
The Ann Arbor Bolsheviks. I love it.
whatsupwithMI
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 2:37 p.m.
I appreciate the new effort to develop content, but this type of approach is what (I think) helped contribute to the decline of the physical paper. You don't appeal to the community you need to serve. "How great _are_ we anyway?" "Who else wants to be like us?" "Is U of M going to win 100% or 110% of matches this year" (Ok that one hasn't been usable for a while) "If our stuff stank we wouldn't put it in the beautiful Huron River" I don't expect you guys to be perfect journalists, kids gotta learn : ) but there is clearly a reason to appeal to, not offend, the entire region.
lexnex
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 1:10 p.m.
The column states, "battery makers like Johnson & Johnson" Perhaps you meant "battery makers like Johnson Controls"
Nathan Bomey
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 1:16 p.m.
Yes, of course, thanks for catching that. Not sure how that happened! The battery investments by Johnson Controls and LG Chem are turning Holland, Mich., into a powerhouse for the emerging electric vehicle components supply chain.
81wolverine
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:33 p.m.
It seems like the southeastern Michigan region could once become a manufacturing hub IF a group of new industries can be found to utilize the abundance of cheap, available manufacturing plant space that exists today. But, I don't think it will magically happen by itself. We will need all the key players - banks, state & local government, business leaders, and other interested groups to work together to make this scenario happen. I don't know if this is possible given the divisive politics we've seen in Lansing. Sometimes I think, we're our own worst enemies economically.
JSA
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.
Someone is having delusions of grandeur.
KJMClark
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 11:44 a.m.
You can tell Michigan's the leading grower of fruit; just look at all of these odd comments. We've been riding this declining auto industry for so long people don't realize there are other options. Every now and then it sheds a few hundred thousand jobs and gets a new burst of energy. It's going to keep on doing just that until there's nothing of the industry left in Michigan but a few tech centers and one headquarters. Until Washington calls China a currency manipulator (like it is), we're just going to send manufacturing jobs to China, or lose them to high gas prices. We need another industry, or two, or five, to take over - or Michigan's just going to keep being the butt of jokes. Those new companies are extremely unlikely to come from metro Detroit, which is still in the thrall of the auto industry (look at all the swooning over that silly commercial. That was just weird.) I don't know where the new jobs are going to come from, but usually they would come from a research university or another population center. So probably some combination of Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Houghton.
Brad
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 11:11 a.m.
"The most important thing the Ann Arbor region has to offer is its talent" Just not journalistic talent.
Somewhat Concerned
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 10:43 a.m.
We are a legend in our own mind, we makes us more like Detroit than we will ever believe. We're a small, pleasant town, where the dominant force is political correctness, where we don't have our own television station with local news coverage, where we don't even have a newspaper, and do have an anti-business culture. We do have the Ark, small, lively downtown areas (that are being converted to 7-11 and chain zones), some artists, lots of drunk students and panhandlers whom we take great pains to protect, if not promote, and a big, anti-business research university. If that's enough to make us the center of gravity for the state, then Michigan is in more trouble than I thought.
CynicA2
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 4:13 a.m.
@treetown... Don't you know who we think we are... ?!?! The universe revolves around us!! Or so some around here think. Other than that, I suppose if the local media and the local pols lick enough corporate boots and fawn over business culture enough (and offer enough tax breaks), we will occasionally snare a job creator or two. Kind of like throwing a handful of Cheerios in a gallon bowl of milk.
treetowncartel
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 2:16 a.m.
Ann Arbor is already the center of the universe, why would it want to be the gravitational center of the state?
Frank D
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 1:49 a.m.
Part of the solution is a not forgetting about the things that make this state great. Instead of continually stating how bad we are by starting articles with such phrases as "Detroit's astonishing descent" or "steep climb Michigan faces", how about a highlighting some of things we are already doing well. Here are a few nuggets you can throw into your next Michigan bashing article: The Detroit Metropolitan Area ranks 9th most populous in the U.S. Michigan ranks fourth nationally in high tech employment. Michigan typically ranks second or third in overall R&D expendures. Michigan led the nation in job creation improvement in 2010. Michigan is second only to California in agricultural diversity. Michigan is the leading grower of fruit in the US.
braggslaw
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 1:25 a.m.
Metro Detroit...Warren etc will always be the center of the state. BUT I believe Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Lansing are attractive growth cities if the tax issues and union issues get worked out.
Moscow On The Huron
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:18 a.m.
It would be better that that designation be given to some place that has some connection with reality.
Davidian
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:15 a.m.
Ann Arbor is the classic "not in my backyard" city so I can understand why citizens are terrified of this prospect. It's also classic limousine liberalism.
sirotan
Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 12:02 a.m.
No, but Grand Rapids is. When I was growing up there we barely even remembered that Detroit existed. GRap 4 eva.
Andy
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 11:14 p.m.
Nathan, double check that Patchwork Nation link -- right now it goes to Bloomberg.
Nathan Bomey
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
Good catch, Andy, thanks. I fixed it.
jcj
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 11:14 p.m.
"Detroit's astonishing descent," Detroit has not been the "gravitational center for the state" in 50 years!
Basic Bob
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 10:40 p.m.
I don't know about gravity, but Ann Arbor doesn't suck as much as Detroit.
Mike
Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 10:16 p.m.
you better hope not