A study published Tuesday finds population loss is costing Michigan billions of dollars. More from Chris McCarus.
The Michigan State University Land Policy Institute is asking: when people move, what do they take with them? Just start with empty houses. They bring down the value of all the other houses. Over three years, five counties alone lost $2.4 billion in home equity. LPI Director Soji Adelaja says, then add things like:
“Food and beverage stores, we all eat and if you’re not here you’re not buying your food from here. You’re buying it from wherever you move to.”
Adelaja says suburbs have to recognize that recent college graduates want to live in cities.
“They’re looking for fun. They want to live in a place where they can walk to their workplaces where they can socialize and don’t have to get in a car and drive out 5-6-7 miles.”
Only two states lost population in the last couple years. Rhode Island lost 2,000 people and Michigan lost 80,000.
Audio MP3: Population loss is negative multiplier on economy