Traverse City has officially caught the attention of one of America's experts on economic development and urban studies. Richard Florida, professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU's School of Professional Studies and frequent speaker and media contributor, says Traverse City has all the right ingredients to flourish. The Ticker caught up with him several months after he visited Mackinac Island for a policy conference. 

Ticker: At the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference earlier this year, you said you thought the “ace in the hole” for Michigan is lake access to the north, and that if you want to develop a talent strategy, look to Traverse City. Could you explain that?
Florida: I think the ace in the hole with the Traverse City area is the airport. It’s not just that Traverse City is beautiful and on the lakefront. That airport gives the region connectivity to major destinations like Chicago, New York and Washington. I just think northern Michigan is a place that is clearly not just remote workers, but rich people from the Midwest and from the coasts are going to flock to more and more. And, of course, the Traverse City area has become sophisticated rural, and there’s a big draw to that.

Ticker: You also talked about the importance of boomerang recruiting of kids who left here for other places and want to come back to be with family.
Florida: I think the issue in Michigan with talent is in many ways misunderstood, including misunderstood locally. Michigan does a spectacular job of retaining talent. It has one of the highest rates of retaining its college graduates of any state in the nation. Where Michigan loses talent is at the super high end. So the really critical thing in Michigan is to focus on retaining the superstar talent. Most of them go to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now when you have a family, when you and your partner decide to have children, you have a whole portfolio of places to choose from. If I have parents or grandparents, or brothers and sisters in a place, that’s terrific because my kids will grow up around their cousins and I’ll have some help with childcare, right?

Ticker: What other factors could make the Traverse City area and Michigan in general more attractive to talent?
Florida: I’ve been saying for a while now that the bloom is off the rose in the Sunbelt. We’ve had a 50-year experiment in the movement of America southward. I’m not saying that experiment is over, but I think we’re going to see in coming decades a shift back to the north. When you really think about climate change and what is happening to coastal destinations as heat waves grip the nation, northern Michigan is an attractive place in the country to spend a good part of your time.

And the final thing I’ll add that’s really important is this whole revitalization of American manufacturing. The car has become something new and different. It’s electric powered by a battery. It’s run by software. It’s built by robots. It’s a cool thing to be involved in. So for all those reasons, yeah, I’m pretty high, much higher than I would have been a decade ago, on the prospects for Michigan, and especially northern Michigan.

Ticker: What else strikes you as something important Traverse City is doing to develop talent?
Florida: One of the things Traverse City has done is that Northwestern Community College has partnered with various universities so that you can get a four-year degree while living there. I think what Traverse City is doing to increase its quality of life to make itself more interesting is great. If you look at economic growth, there are three keys to it: attract talent, build up your quality of place and make yourself an exciting lifestyle destination. And if you have a lake and wine and food, that’s great. And that airport is essential.

Ticker: There has long been a tension in Traverse City between those who promote growth and those who want to limit growth and preserve the city’s small-town character. How does the city balance those interests?
Florida: Look, I think this tension is very real, particularly in resort destinations. The issue is you’re trying to make things work for you. And there is this influx and increase in vacation rentals, particularly short-term rentals that make places less affordable. So people get really angry and say I want my kids to be able to afford the same quality of life I’ve had. So it’s understandable, and people start to say, let’s limit growth.

I think we’ve seen it in resort community after resort community. As those communities become hot, real estate becomes more expensive and locals get priced out. I think this is a really important issue. I think it’s going to take a process of really working with the community to help it understand how growth can benefit everyone and not just the truly rich.

Ticker: Work is progressing on a train route connecting Ann Arbor and Traverse City. Is this just kind of a gimmicky tourist train or do you see it a having a broader economic development benefit?
Florida: If the train could connect Detroit, Ann Arbor and Traverse City and be high-speed rail, you’ve almost got yourself an expanded metropolitan region. I have no clue what it would cost, but if there’s money to do it and it’s feasible, why not?