MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 7

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Paul A. Sears, Dean of College of Business at the University of Findlay and previously Dean of Ashland University’s College of Business and Economics, believes that the success of micros can be a two-edged sword.

“The biggest challenge that I see for micropolitan communities is getting used to the idea that they are playing a leading role in their geographic area. I think the citizens of these communities are so used to thinking about larger metropolitan areas as playing the key roles that they simply are not yet comfortable with the idea that they are key players in the economic landscape of their region,” said Sears.

“People in the community desire growth and expansion but within the established guidelines and standards which have been in place for many years,” said John C. Hovsepian, President of Ohio Tool Works Corporation, a manufacturer of heavy industrial honing equipment, tooling and abrasive related products, located in Ashland.

Hovsepian also cites a “lack of flexibility in work force thinking” as a challenge to be overcome in the small town atmosphere of micro communities.

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 6

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Halfway between the Ohio big cities of Cleveland and Columbus, Ashland celebrates its small town roots. The Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center and Outdoor Drama is in the works as a tribute to the folkloric figure who passed through this land of rolling hills and beautiful hard wood trees. Those who drive through the city today still see members of the nearby Amish communities and their horse-drawn buggies.

These bucolic images are as integral to Ashland’s identity as the advantages it offers to businesses and developers. Existing warehousing, manufacturing and distribution facilities are available. Considerable infrastructure and zoning are already in place.

The area’s manufacturing base in such industries as plastics, machining, tooling, fabrication, printing, rubber and chemicals means a ready-made network with local suppliers, manufacturers and distributors. The city has wisely created an enterprise zone and tax incentives, as well as an Economic Development Department to attract businesses.

“Ashland is the poster-child for a small, Midwestern city with a strong agricultural sector but also an impressive collection of manufacturing firms,” said Evan Scurti, Director at Ashland Area Council for Economic Development.

Scurti listed development measures that have been taken to shape Ashland’s micropolitan future.

“City-county cooperation to create our Economic Development Department. in 2003, and to work together on the creation of our first business park; strong Economic Development/Ashland University Business School partnerships, i.e. seminars, business counseling, etc. and much more regional partnering with other small towns,” he said.

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 5

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

In contrast with Mt. Airy, Sheridan, Wy. is a micropolitan located very remotely from a major metropolitan area. Salt Lake City, Utah sits nearly 400 miles away.

But that’s not stopping city dwellers from the East, California and Colorado from moving to this mountain community of just over 26,000 people,


“We don’t have enough houses to sell to interested buyers,” said Sheridan Realtor Vickie Farrington, who handles primarily residential sales.


“Prices are going up, but it’s still much cheaper than the big cities,” she said.


“People want to escape the big city. This is a quiet community with little crime. People leave their keys in their cars. They don’t lock their houses. And it’s inexpensive to live here,” said Farrington.

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 4

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Realtor and developer Burke Robertson grew up in Mt. Airy. He left for a while, living in more urban areas, but came back to the city because he saw the potential here, which he terms “limitless.”

“Because of technology – fax machines, the Internet – you can live anywhere. I know a New York City mortgage broker who lives here. Another guy publishes three trade magazines that are printed in Philadelphia and his graphics guy lives in Vermont,” said Robertson.

“The downside of technology is that it makes things impersonal,” he said.

“But in a community like Mt. Airy, when you go to the grocery store you see the same people all the time. You speak to them because you see them, even if you don’t know their names. That’s not something that happens in urban areas.”

Robertson believes that the area will continue to grow as a mature community, drawing fifty-somethings who are still vital and active but are looking down the road to retirement. The city appeals to people who are moving an existing business or are looking to make a career change.

“Micros must avoid mistakes such as strip center development and contributing to traffic congestion. And you need a central core, a people place,” he said.

Brookshire echoes similar sentiments. He believes that the challenges for micros include “the competing desires to develop the community further and add to the tax base versus the desire to retain the elements that make the community special; the need to enhance services to the population on a limited tax base and the recognition that there continues to be a shortage of high paying, high quality jobs for our residents.”

Brookshire neatly summed up the essence of the “micro mystique” that draws businesses and residents alike.

“A small town atmosphere where you can walk down the street and be recognized is important…It’s about the quality of life in a community such as ours.”

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 3

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Mt. Airy, NC sounds like a fictional town from the golden age of television: an honest-to-goodness downtown with a Main Street, proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a still-thriving drive-in movie theater and other quaint touches such as a building bedecked with an authentic antique Coca-Cola sign.

Indeed, Mt. Airy, was the boyhood home of actor and small town America icon Andy Griffith. The town’s tourism website address is VisitMayberry.com. But to dismiss this city as a sleepy little backwater would be a serious mistake.

“Mount Airy has long been the economic hub for the county,” said Don Brookshire. back when he was City Manager of Mt. Airy

“In the past this meant that it was both a retailing and manufacturing center that brought workers in who would shop in our area. Beginning in the late 1990s, the city began to feel the impact of the global economy with the loss of several thousand textile and furniture manufacturing related jobs. At the same time, the community was seeing the decline in the major agricultural crop of the region, tobacco,” said Brookshire.

But Mt. Airy, located 85 miles from Charlotte with a micropolitan area population of 71,000, found a way to adapt. Now the downtown is focused less on retail and more on tourism. It’s capitalized on being the hometown of not only Griffith, but also Eng and Chang -- the world’s most famous Siamese Twins – and country singer Donna Fargo.

And located in the Blue Ridge foothills, the town is attracting hikers and bikers looking to explore the surrounding natural beauty.

“We have a diversified local mix of business and industry that offers both the old and the new. The serene and bucolic downtown is separated by about a mile from a thriving street that is bounded by numerous chain and franchise establishments that offer all that can be found in most cities of a larger size,” said Brookshire.

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 2

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

With their small cores but sometimes expansive boundaries, micros are more rural and less intense than cities but more civilized and less rustic than traditional rural areas. They frequently come with the promise of cheap land and lower construction costs, plus fewer bureaucratic hoops to jump through than urban centers.

One in 10 Americans lives in a micropolitan. One out of five U.S. counties is a micro. Micropolitans grew by nearly 8 percent in the 1990s.

Lang is careful to differentiate micros from exurbs, a concept with which they are sometimes confused.

“Exurbs are a subset of the suburbs, and are still part of the metropolitan community and economy. Exurbs are within the metropolitan area, on its fringe. Micros are a fringe metropolitan area,” he explained.

People living in exurbs tend to commute back and forth to the core city, while micropolitan residents can and often do live, work and play within the boundaries of the micro, without venturing into the nearest metropolitan area. That is what makes them attractive as growth areas.

While micros lack a large central city of over 50,000 residents, they often contain central cities akin to modest-sized towns, according to census analysis of 567 micros in the continental U.S. published by Lang and co-author Dawn Dhavale. Yet some of the country’s largest micros are more than just overgrown towns; they are better characterized as a new decentralized or countrified city.

“Micropolitans are as diverse as cities, as different as Detroit and Los Angeles,” Lang said.

“Some are poor, some affluent. Some are politically conservative, some liberal. Some are racially homogenous, some very ethnically diverse.”

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Part 1

MICROPOLITANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

A peaceful view of mountains from the office where big city business deals are made. Acres of development-ready infrastructure unfettered by urban bureaucracy and red tape. Savvy business proprietors plying their trades Monday through Friday, then fly fishing and hiking on the weekends in their own backyards.

What may sound like non-sensical contradictions or a novelist’s flight of fancy are realities in communities all across the country. Such communities – called micropolitans – exist throughout the United States and are attracting the attention of developers and residents alike, particularly those who want big city conveniences and a small town feel.

But just exactly what is a micropolitan and why are they factoring into America’s growth trends? The US Office of Management and Budget in June 2003 introduced the following definition: “at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 in population.”

To put this in real terms, a true expert is essential and Robert Lang fits the bill.

Robert Lang, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was the director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech as well as an associate professor in Urban Affairs and Planning. He has researched and written about micropolitans (or micros) extensively.

“Micros are a fringe metropolitan area, not in a metro area. And it’s the size of the micro’s core -- the principle city or cities -- that matters. A micropolitan can be comprised of one or more counties, but they are there own distinct places,” he said.