Transportation investments spur private development in downtown Kent, Ohio


Architect’s rendering of proposed Kent Central Gateway. Image via Kent State University.

When the federal government invests in infrastructure, the funds directly help communities with large, long-term projects. But these investments go beyond direct help: when the government invests in an area, private developers often follow its lead and invest as well. In doing so, these federal investments have an even bigger impact.

Downtown Kent, Ohio, is a great example of this. After many public meetings to create a vision for the city’s future, Kent is transforming its downtown into a vibrant public space. A $20 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities) has helped the town build a new multimodal transportation facility – and the city is now experiencing over $100 million in related development.

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Transportation for innovation in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN, have formed an innovative partnership aimed at taking the Twin Cities region to a new level of prosperity. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Business Plan, created as a part of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, is a long-term strategy for sustainable economic growth in which the cities will pool their assets rather than competing against each other. Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to a number of universities and colleges, Fortune 500 companies and medical research facilities, and the region’s business plan will help reduce transaction costs between businesses, inventors, suppliers, workers and consumers through better infrastructure and networking programs.

Economic activity thrives where transaction costs are lowest, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul plan aims to reduce these costs whenever possible. One of the ways the plan will do this is by constructing a light-rail line linking universities, medical and research institutions, central business districts and population centers throughout the region. Doing so will increase interaction between businesses and connect the area’s patent-holders with the economic actors that have capital to invest, hopefully increasing the percentage of inventions from the region that make it into the global marketplace. In addition to connecting existing assets like universities and medical centers, the cities will also encourage new development along the light-rail line to maximize the return on their investment.

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Metropolitan Business Plans: A New Approach to Economic Growth

Too frequently, towns and cities seek economic growth by chasing the latest fad, without considering how those short-term decisions will impact their long-term economic health. On Monday, the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program held a forum presenting three pilot projects that helped communities create long-term evidence-based business plans.

Yesterday’s speakers included Bob Weissbourd of RW Ventures, LLC; Brad Whitehead of the Fund for Our Economic Future, Northeast Ohio Pilot Program; Eric Schinfeld of the Puget Sound Regional Council; Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis; Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul; Mayor Ray Stephanson of the City of Everett and Puget Sound Regional Council; Derek Douglas of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Daniel Malarkey of the Washington State Department of Commerce; Kim Nelson of Microsoft; and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

In cooperation with Brookings, leaders in Northeast Ohio, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and the Puget Sound region have created strategic business plans to promote resilient economic development for each region. The metropolitan business plans will help these regions capitalize on local strengths and increase capacity, allowing each local economy to better weather short-term cyclical economic fluctuations.

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