The Young and the Restless: Let's make Brandon more attractive to young people

(remarks from Sept 16 announcement at Parthenon's Pizza)

If Brandon is going to thrive and grow, we need to be a place where young people want to be. Why do I say this?

• Young, educated people are the most mobile people in Canada, and will go where they sense they will have the most opportunity.
• Young, educated people are an indicator of a city's economic vitality, but they are also a key contributor to economic vitality.
• people in the 25 - 34 year old group are the most entrepreneurial in our society.
• For the first time, women in this age group are better educated than men, making them key to developing a base of talent.
• Place matters, and Brandon needs to start working to build a city that young people want to live in.

Cities have long competed over job growth, struggling to revive their downtowns and improve their image. Now, the latest population trends have forced them to fight for college/ university educated 25-34 year olds, a demographic group increasingly viewed as the key to an economic future.

" Mobile, but not flighty; fresh, and technologically savvy, the young
and the restless as demographers call them, are at their most desirable because
the chances of relocating drop precipitously after they turn 35. Cities that do not attract them now will be hurting in a decade.
And unlike the popular myth, they usually don't come home to raise their
family." Richard Florida- Who's your
city?

We have over 5,000 students at BU, ACC, and the Fire College who are, in effect, test driving Brandon. According to the 2006 Census, 25% of our population is between 15-30. Brandon needs a plan for young people that does two things- makes Brandon a place where our young people want to stay, and makes Brandon a place where young people want to move to.

We often say that we want to keep our young people in Brandon. To do that we're going to need to offer the employment opportunities and the lifestyle that they are looking for.

October announcements that will complement this announcement:

• Great Career Opportunities
• Affordable Housing
• Downtown Revitalization
• Culture and Heritage

Great Lifestyle:

Like most of us, young people don't live to work but work to live. They play in bands and sports leagues. They like to go out and not just with people from the office. they're as interested in parks and bike trails as fancy sports arenas and concert halls. they want fun neighbourhoods, art galleries, coffeehouses, nightlife and diversity in everything from race and sexual orientation to music and fashion.

Brandon is a college town that people retire to-

NOT a retirement community with students.

How do we make this statement ring true? If we are going to do more than pay lip service to keeping our young people in Brandon, we're going to need a plan. Comprehensive planning includes data, goals, participation, and evaluation. A plan to recruit and retain young people has to be more than an ad or slogan. It should be multifaceted, dealing with elements such as:

• Earning- employment and career opportunities
• Social Capital- diversity and tolerance
• Around Town- ease of getting to and around town
• Cost of Lifestyle- affordability and cost of living
• Downtown Housing-
• Vitality- a healthy community where people are active. It includes recreational amenities.
• After Hours- things to do after 5pm.amenities that provide social outlets and opportunities for young people to connect with one another are important.

1,000 Things To Do.....

Brandon needs a plan that includes the concept of a 1,000 nights. If people graduate from post-secondary at about age 22 and don't start a family until 32, and go out twice a week, that gives them about 1,000 nights in which they can go out to have fun.

My question to all of you is, do we have 1,000 nights of fun in Brandon for those people? If we don't figure this out, the young people aren't staying.

And if we have a city that young people are attracted to, where do we take that message? How do we recruit young people? Young people gather their information about where to live from personal experiences, friends, family, and local web sites. So based on that, here are a few ideas:

Don't loose touch with our own

• Recruit college and university students when they are home visiting families.
• Recruit Brandon-born students who are studying on other campuses- Brandon clubs
• a web based newsletter through parents

Build the brand

• Smart cities attract smart people
• special page in the Brandon Sun's web page targeted to young people with housing, career, and social info
• Relocation videos have begun to feature mosh pits and dread locks rather than ducks and sunsets
• Develop ideas to help businesses market to young professionals and college students.
• Market ourselves to ourselves (retain vs recruit)