Cities in race to attract young, educated adults

Cities in race to attract young, educated adults

Portland's diversity appeals to many 25- to 35-year-olds

By Aviva L. Brandt

Associated Press

PORTLAND - When Anna Dunn got tired of living in the Midwest a couple years ago, it was easy for her to make a decision on where to head next.

Dunn, 28, headed west to Portland, where she got a job as a barista, a big change from teaching English in her small hometown of Kidron, Ohio.

She loves her new hometown. "Portland has a lot of diversity. It's a liberal city," Dunn said. "It's a friendly city with a small-town feel for a pretty big city."

Dunn isn't alone. In the battle to attract 25- to 34-year-olds, Portland ranks in the top 10 nationally according to census data showing the change in that demographic from 1990 and 2000.

Portland and five other cities - Philadelphia, Providence, R.I., Memphis, Tenn., Tampa Bay, Fla., and Richmond, Va. - recently sponsored studies on what exactly attracts young people to a city and their cities in particular.

Carol Coletta of the Memphis-based Coletta & Co. ran focus groups in each of the cities to determine what would attract them to a city. The first criteria, she said, was the "urban fabric" of a city - its density, distinctive neighborhoods, mix of uses. Next was the availability of natural resources like beaches or mountains. Also important is the city's culture.

Portland, which was the only city among the six to attract more young adults than it lost during the decade in question, rated highly in all three categories, Coletta said. "Newcomers in Portland felt they could have their say and make a difference," she said.

Betty Attebury, executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance in Portland, said the young adults are crucial for keeping the economy growing and developing.

"A lot of the startups that have occurred in this area have been started by individuals in that age cohort," she said Monday. "Based on everything we've seen, it's important to be able to attract and keep that age group here."

The Westside Economic Alliance and the Portland Development Commission co-sponsored the study for Portland, which showed that Portland was among just 15 cities nationwide that had a positive net growth of young adults from 1995 to 2000.

Kip Bergstrom, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council in Providence, a sponsor for that city's study, said it was no surprise that Providence was losing young people because there was a decline in that population nationally. Providence also has a slower population growth than cities like Portland, he said.

"We're not desiring greater population growth. What we want is to know how well are we doing in terms of inflow and outflow of 25- to 34-year-olds. What's our relative attractiveness?" he said.

One outcome of the study is that the council is helping to organize a group of young professionals, something that focus group participants said Providence lacked and they felt a need for, Bergstrom said.

For Portland, it was surprising to learn that the city continues to attract young people despite a long period having one of the nation's highest unemployment rates.

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