Dalton needs to be a 'cool' city to keep young professionals, author says
By Mariann Martin
Friday, October 14, 2011
DALTON, Ga. — If Dalton wants a better future for young professionals, it will take the whole community working together, according to an expert in building communities.
“If you are looking for a savior, that’s not how it happens,” Rebecca Ryan told a group of Dalton leaders and residents Thursday. “It is going to take everyone working together to figure this out. It is time to stand up and start helping paint a picture of a future.”
Ryan is the author of “Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Head of the Next Generation” and the founder of Next Generation Consulting. She spoke to about 300 people at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center about how to attract and keep young professionals in the city.
Dalton officials have long said they will need to find a way to attract more young people if the city wants to become a force in the 21st century. But the 2010 census shows that, in the last 10 years, the city actually lost people in the key 25- to 34-year-old group.
In 2000, 17 percent of the city’s population fell into that 10-year age span. In 2010, it was only 15.5 percent.
By comparison, Chattanooga saw an increase in the same group, but it was less than 1 percent.
“It’s not just about the job — they want to live in a cool city,” Ryan said.
Ryan listed seven different factors that make up the “cool” factor for young professionals — the cost of living, earnings, vitality, learning, ease of transportation, social capital and after-hours attractions.
Dalton has two things going for it, Ryan said. It has a great educational system and is demographically diverse. About 83 percent of the growth in the United States in the last 10 years was from nonwhite populations, she said, and cities with diverse populations are growing more.
Communities that use the economic downturn to come up with new ideas and find ways to grow will be poised for huge expansions when things turn around, she said.
“Spring will come again,” she said. “We need to be gathering our resources and deciding how to reorganize them instead of withdrawing and shutting down. That is what is at stake here — you need to be innovative and creative.”
After Ryan’s speech, about 100 people — most of them young professionals — attended a two-hour brainstorming and informational session led by Ryan that came up with ideas that might improve Dalton.
Several groups presented ideas for a software app and website that would provide information about events and things to do in the city. Others drew rough sketches for restaurants and outdoor venues in downtown. Another group suggested a residence hall for Dalton State College with coffee shops and places for students to meet.
Ryan will combine the ideas into a white paper that will be presented to city and county leaders.
One of the young professionals who participated in the session called Thursday’s event “a milestone” with “historic potential.” Dustin Coker, 31, a designer for Northwest Carpets, grew up in Dalton, lived elsewhere for eight years and recently moved back.
“It’s great to see this many people plugged into the community; we need this conversation to continue,” he said.