The Revitalist

A recent article from the NY Times on how cities attract the elusive 25-34 year old set has been getting lots of coverage. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce released a study last week that shows that it is leading the country in attracting and retaining college-educated young people. And as the article points out, "It's a zero-sum game." If they are in your city, the chances are they came from someone else's city.

There's not much new information here, but it does bear repeating. The Y&R like active, diverse and cultural cities. They want places to go out, sporty things to do and community groups to participate in. They want cities where they feel that they can get involved and have an impact. They also want places where they can afford to buy a house and eventually raise a family. They want the option of starting their own businesses and an economy that supports that kind of risk-taking. They want a city with its own unique flavor, which means that there is no recipe for attracting the Y&R:

"The real issue was, is your city open to a set of ideas from young people, and their wish to realize their dream or objective in your city. You could go out and build bike paths, but if that's not what your young people want, it's not going to work."