Vibrancy is as Vibrancy Does

The below editorial from Roanoke Regional Partnership Director of Outdoor Branding Pete Eshelman originally appeared in the Roanoke Times.

Like much of the U.S., the population of our Roanoke region is getting older. However, this is not our parents’ Roanoke any longer. Roanoke is undergoing a progressive cultural and economic shift (if you just rolled your eyes you definitely need to keep reading) and this momentum must continue while attracting youthful passengers along the way.

Talk about the future of our region; not the past. Let’s focus on what we can do today that will continue to attract young people.

There is no denying the fact that the region’s population is aging. A recent study by the Roanoke Regional Partnership showed that nearly a third of the region’s population is 55 or over — a full six points ahead of the national average and ahead of our direct economic competitors like Chattanooga, Spartanburg and Winston-Salem.

To keep Roanoke competitive, the region needs to become more attractive to young people. Younger workers create huge economic benefits to a region beyond the work they perform. One study by a University of California-Berkeley economist found that for every college graduate who takes a job in an innovation industry, five additional jobs are created.

Simply put, young, innovative, college-educated community members generate growth simply by living in an area. Though our region’s younger population is certainlygrowing, particularly in the city of Roanoke, it needs to continue to grow at a rate that not only replaces the inevitable gray tsunami, but exceeds it.

Economists have debated whether jobs follow people or people follow jobs. It can be both, but it’s definite that business is increasingly locating where large numbers of young, college-educated people live. So, where are these college graduates going?

They’re moving to areas with appreciable opportunities to balance work and play: areas rich in cultural experiences, with an array of social opportunities, and where fitness is emphasized through outdoor activity. Interestingly enough, they’re also moving closer to urban cores: 25 percent more young college graduates live in major urban areas today than in 2000.

Our Roanoke region has an existing and obvious edge in the competition: There are more than 25 colleges and universities with 100,000 undergraduates within an hour radius of our vibrant urban center.

Now the challenge: to keep this young talent in the area. To do this, Roanoke needs to become and remain “sticky” — that is, become the type of community that welcomes a growing, youthful population and that works to meet their work-play interests and needs so that they will want to stick around.

The Knight Soul of the Community report shows a significant correlation between community attachment and economic growth — the more people enjoy and appreciate their community, the more economic growth that community experiences.

So, how does the Roanoke region increase its stickiness?

Young people want to work hard but they also want to play hard; the region’s diverse outdoor playground makes our outdoor narrative an obvious launching point. Events like the Blue Ridge Marathon and GO Outside Festival shine the national spotlight on the region’s outdoor culture, while the smaller, everyday events and activities — such as stand up paddleboard (SUP) yoga, women-only bike clinics, learn-to-kayak classes, climbing clubs, pub runs and lunch-time bike rides — foster a daily lifestyle centered around the outdoors.

Think about it: Without actively engaged residents, larger sport and recreational events would be an awkward fit in our community. As a community we should encourage daily participation in outdoor play and fitness; programs, events and activities should be designed to appeal to young people.

In doing so, we become a region that exudes a vibe of health, advocacy and fun in the outdoors that ultimately and undeniably becomes a way of life, making it easy to attract and retain more young entrepreneurs, wage earners and laborers.

Though our outdoor narrative is a huge component of the vibrancy we exude, it’s certainly not the only one. Our prodigious music scene — booming through the Jefferson Center, Harvester Performance Center, Elmwood Amphitheater, Phoenix, and local bars — is actively feeding the youth vibe. Couple this with our exploding craft beer culture and this place seems sticky in the best possible way.

Our future depends not on words but the actions that are taken to build active social and community engagement. In turn, our coolness, our hipness, our blinding vibrancy will continue to lure, tempt and woo young college graduates who will most certainly want to stick around and help us attract the industries that need them.

Our narrative is changing in the Roanoke region and, as people who love this place, it’s up to us to make it shine. Show up, participate, stay young, and make it stick!

Eshelman is director of outdoor branding for the Roanoke Regional Partnership. He writes about the relationship of the outdoors and quality of life issues to economic development.