December 11, 2003 -- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today welcomed a sold out crowd of more than 1,300 participants to the Lansing Center to participate in the conference “Creating Cool: Linking Culture, Community and the Economy,’ as part of her ‘cool cities’ initiative.

“Creating cool cities is a critical component in growing our economy.  We want to create a reason for young workers and hot opportunities to converge in our cities,” said Granholm. “Cool cities – when all the elements are right- act like magnets.  A cool city with a great downtown, great parks, great art, great places to get out to bike and hike and walk –is a magnet for people, jobs and opportunity. Cool is a serious business when it comes to economic growth.”

The one-day conference, which started out as the ninth annual Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs conference — this year featuring best-selling author Richard Florida — quickly evolved into much more.  The participation of Dr. Florida, popular for his book The Rise of the Creative Class and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, has created a buzz in communities statewide and became a natural tie-in for the governor’s cool cities initiative.

“Michigan gets it,” said Florida. “This state and its communities have every asset to compete and win in the creative age. With the greatest research university in the world, the foremost center of musical innovation around, plus great outdoor assets and Governor Granholm’s leadership, Michigan is positioned to succeed.”

As part of her overall ‘cool cities’ initiative, Granholm also announced the launch of a new web-based survey called www.michigancoolcities.com . The site will gather information from recent college graduates and current college students about what elements might draw them to a state or city. The information gathered will be used by the state and local communities to develop pro-active strategies and tools for bringing young people and workers to Michigan. The web survey was created by the Governor’s Office, in partnership with the MEDC, MSHDA, the Michigan Council of University Presidents, the Michigan State University Center for Urban Studies, Solomon Friedman Marketing and the Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

The majority of participants came as teams and displayed their creativity with names like Hipsilaniti, Positively Pontiac and Koolamazoo.  At the end of the day, teams left with an action plan to bring back to their communities.

“This is just one of many initiatives we’re putting in place to build the cool cities that will transform Michigan into a magnet for economic growth and opportunity,” said David Hollister, Director of the Department of Labor & Economic Growth.  “I am excited to see so many talented teams from the arts and economic development communities come together to work side by side, exchange ideas, and find common ground.”

The conference, designed to bring together cultural, economic development, civic and government leaders was hosted by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (an agency of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries), the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth and the Governor’s office. 

In addition to Dr. Florida’s presentation, conference attendees heard from William E. Strickland, president and CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.  Mr. Strickland’s organization, founded in a racially divided and economically distressed part of Pittsburgh, has grown into a nationally acclaimed, multi-disciplined learning community for the arts. Attendees attended breakout sessions led by people from communities who have successfully demonstrated how arts and cultural programs are strongly tied to economic development.  Other sessions included strategies for identifying and securing available tools and resources to build creative communities.

“That’s perhaps the most exciting part of today’s events,” said Dr. William Anderson, director of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).  “We’re hearing, on a very wide scale, that this works.  Communities are seeing that by taking inventory of the many arts, cultural and economic resources they already have in place, and finding new ways to partner with each other, the opportunities for growth are amazing.”

###