Issue Position: Healthy Vibrant Communities

Issue Position

As we redevelop our downtowns and main streets, we gain both the benefits of using existing infrastructure and the opportunity to enhance our communities. In a 21st century economy, we need to create 21st century cities with vibrant cores that will help to attract and retain young talent. A vibrant, unique main street or downtown becomes the differentiator for our communities.

Nearly every community in North Dakota has at least one special, historic building on its main street that is at risk. We can honor our past and inspire our future with the renovation of these historic structures, which all create unique differentiation that is essential to creating a sense of place and meaning.

By pursuing the concept of mixed use on main street (e.g. retail on first floor, renovating the upper floor or floors for apartments or offices), we create more vibrancy and generate more economic activity and efficiency around existing infrastructure.

With the concept of infill, we build new mixed-use structures on the empty lots between existing buildings, or build on under-utilized surface parking lots, and further increase the efficient use of existing infrastructure.
Vibrant main streets will once again be a center point where the community can come together as a whole to engage, interact, shop, work, live, and enrich their quality of life.

And center points of interaction also spur the elements of culture that help attract and retain workforce, such as the visual and performing arts and creative community spaces both inside and outdoors.

Vibrant main streets and downtown neighborhoods enable more walking. Mixed uses and infill enable more walking. Retail and culture encourage more walking. And a walkable city is a healthy city. Two large demographic groups, millennials and retiring baby boomers, are seeking walkable neighborhoods where they can live, work, shop, learn, and play.

Walkable cities allow residents of any age to become more physically active and spend more time outdoors, thereby improving wellness and reducing health care costs. And across the country, the greater the walkability, the higher the real estate values.

We have nearly 15,000 jobs open across North Dakota today. Every unfilled job represents a missed economic opportunity, for the company, the community, and an employee. It is not just enough to create great jobs, we need to build vibrant, attractive, communities so we can attract the workforce and their families to live in North Dakota.

Source