Challenge: Capitalizing on Maine's quality of place without ruining it
By RICHARD BARRINGER and CATHERINE REILLY
MaineToday.com, July 15, 2007
The Brookings Institution study last fall found that Maine's quality places are scarce and increasingly valuable assets in today's economy. "Accessible wild places and tranquil country farms, human-scaled Main Streets, and working waterfronts: these are what differentiate Maine from other places and in many respects drive its economy," the report said.
This spring, as part of an aggressive response to the Brookings report, Gov. John Baldacci created the Council on Maine's Quality of Place to examine the validity of this claim, and to consider whether and how we might make quality of place an added framework for Maine's community and economic development efforts.
Testimony in three public meetings from a wide variety of private, public and nonprofit sources, as well as research by the Maine State Planning Office yield a number of striking conclusions. Most important, Maine's outstanding quality of place is, indeed, an economic asset of great value and a viable source of sustainable growth in the Maine economy.
The challenge we face is how to make Maine's distinctive quality of place a renewable resource -- how, in Brookings' words, "to achieve sustainable prosperity for Maine people without wrecking the place!"
How do we sustain Maine's acknowledged quality of place as a resource for this and future generations? And how do we ensure that this public resource will provide economic opportunity for all Maine people?
We in Maine have learned from our friends in forestry that this will take careful, thoughtful planning, investment and management -- that is, a strategic approach to sustaining a scarce resource.
Beyond these key findings are further, important conclusions:
-- Maine residents understand that the world has changed. New technologies re- duce and even eliminate constraints of physical distance. Maine today attracts businesses and workers who could not previously have located here.
Globally, falling transportation costs and trade barriers have given businesses more freedom to locate in low-cost countries.
Competition grows tougher, and many of the state's traditional industries have modernized or faced de- cline. Many Maine people have faced hard choices about changing occupations, acquiring new skills and even relocating in search of economic opportunity.
-- Historically, Maine's assets of semi-skilled labor, hydropower and abundant natural resources allowed us to produce many goods at lower cost than elsewhere. Today, many of the state's economic development initiatives remain aimed at lowering businesses' costs. These efforts have undoubtedly kept some businesses in Maine, and mitigated job losses at some facilities; but pure cost-based competition gets harder every day.
-- Today, the economic playing field favors professional services and high value-added manufacturing over traditional resource extraction and commodity manufactures.
Successful businesses are those that can exploit new technologies, respond to changing consumer demand and generate innovative ideas to serve new markets. Surviving U.S. manufacturers aren't competing through lower cost, but through higher quality and value.
Technology and professional service industries have better long-term growth prospects than goods-producing industries, many of which are projected to decline.
-- Today's growth industries are founded upon knowledge, skills and innovation. The success of these firms often depends on their ability to attract and retain well-educated workers, more than traditional factors such as transportation costs, proximity to raw materials and cheap labor.They prefer to locate in places where employees and their families will want to live.
-- Places with favorable quality of place characteristics tend to experience both greater economic and population growth.
Nationwide, mobile Americans prefer attractive natural settings with opportunities for outdoor recreation, low crime rates and cultural attractions like museums, restaurants and shops.
"Quality of place" refers to those characteristics that make a region distinctive and attractive as a place to live and work, including its natural and built environments, civic traditions, cultural amenities and recreational opportunities.
In the words of Mary Kate Reny, a member of the Council on Maine's Quality of Place, it is "what makes us breathe a little easier when we cross the bridge in Kittery on our way home." It is also what attracts tourists, retirees and new businesses.
-- Quality of place initiatives must be pursued regionally. One's perception of quality of place reflects the entire region within which one lives, shops, worships, works and recreates.Businesses assess quality of place within the region where employees will live, not just the work site. Tourists and retirees also begin their destination selection regionally.
Each community's quality-of-place decisions feed into its region's quality of place, and thus affect its neighbors.
-- As an economic development strategy, quality of place entails a comprehensive effort to protect and enhance those characteristics that make a region distinct and attractive as a place to live, work and recreate. Successful economic development initiatives align a region's unique assets with promising and realistic market opportunities.
Different people -- natives, retirees, tourists, young workers, telecommuters, etc. -- assess quality of place slightly differently.
For instance, retirees will likely value health-care facilities more than young entrepreneurs, though the difference is one of degree.The choice of whom to target must be grounded in a realistic assessment of a region's strategic assets, and understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of each target market.
-- Quality of place strategies are especially appealing because they seek directly to enhance the well-being and quality of life of local residents, the ultimate goal of all economic development.In this promising matter, what is good for Maine people is good for the economy!
-- Quality of place is a complement to, not a substitute for traditional economic development initiatives like business finance, R&D funding, transportation, telecommunications, education, health care and affordable housing.
Businesses looking to expand or relocate usually consider quality of place when other production costs are similar across two or more competing locations. So, tax policy, transportation and telecommunication infrastructure, and work force readiness remain important; but in many areas, Maine is better positioned to compete based on quality of place than on low cost.
-- Within a quality of place framework, the economic value of natural resources depends on accessibility. Maine's extraordinarily diverse natural settings play a key role in defining our quality of place. Leveraging these to attract residents and visitors alike requires infrastructure -- walking trails, boat ramps, scenic overlooks, etc. -- that makes the resource accessible, as well as businesses that offer complementary goods and services.
Without well-planned recreational access to natural resources, their full economic value may not be realized.
In sum, our findings support Brookings' assertion that "Maine possesses a globally known 'brand' built on images of livable communities, stunning scenery and great recreational opportunities." This brand will only increase in value as "the search for quality places grows in importance ... Maine is surprisingly well-positioned for the future."
It is time to shape Maine's community and economic development strategies around quality of place -- our strong comparative advantage.
The governor's Council on Maine's Quality of Place will report on this effort later this summer and fall.
Its progress may be followed at www.maine.gov/spo/qualityofplace/index.php
Richard Barringer of USM's Muskie School is chair of the Governor's Council on Maine's Quality of Place;
Catherine (Kate) Reilly is Maine State Economist.
This article is based on research findings by Reilly and her colleague, Henry Renski, available at www.maine.gov/spo/economics.
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