What Some Students Think About Cities

A very good friend of mine , Jack Kleinhenz ,teaches a class at Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. It's a great school with a wonderful Economic Studies program. Jack teaches an Urban Economics class to undergraduates who are in their junior and senior years. I was asked to share my commercial real estate experience and expertise and how I thought the industry relates to Economic Development and urban (Central Business District - CBD) dynamics.

In preparing for the class, I presumed that everyone understood that CBD's were vital to a city's and even a  regions economy. I also thought that the students would intuitively understand the concept of a vital CBD and regional health.

I was incorrect. It was not so much that Jack's class disagreed with my position it was more that they had not connected the relationship. I point this out as I am concerned that as more of our children live, shop , work and socialize in suburban communities they are never exposed to and ultimately are unable to appreciate the importance of our cities. I say this knowing that there are many people who believe that our cities are becoming irrelevant in any event. I happen to think the opposite is true.

The student's positions were interesting and articulated clearly, but most did not have the experience and exposure to real world economics and what determines a healthy regional economy. On the other hand, many expressed their interest in working in and living in places like New York, Chicago and Boston after graduating. Maybe they will better understand what makes Chicagoland , Greater Boston and Greater New York the main economic driver for those regions once they have the chance to participate in those respective economies.