That's all I'm really looking for is honesty based on the look and feel alone. It's not utopia by any means, but there is a lot of progress being made in and around town.
A few Lansing positives in my opinion:
1. As far as Michigan cities go, it's virtually recession-proof comparably (think: the one-industry town of Flint). State employees and university faculty/staff offer a solid middle class base.
2. The university is a huge boost to the region, being the 8th largest in the country. The last few years, MSU has seen its endowment grow faster than just about any other public university in the country. It also just won the half-billion dollar (federal) Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. It's nuclear physics program is second only two MIT (U.S. News), and it's the only single campus university with three medical schools, all of which are highly ranked (with 2 in the top ten). It's a land grant university, with many opportunities to work with MSU Extension (one in every county), who have tons of urban/community gardening and sustainable food systems initiatives going on.
3. It's within an hour's drive to Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit. It's within an hour and a half's drive to some of the most beautiful fresh water beaches in the country:
Saugatuck photo taken by Peaguod on Flickr.
Lansing is just over three hours from Chicago (by car and train) and 5 hours to Toronto. Michigan is also on a short list to receive billions for high-speed rail initiatives, which could stand to make the region highly connected.
4. Lansing is currently creating a new master plan with tons of community involvement/participation in the process. The city's "Workshop in a Box" program gives residents the tools to have public input and critique sessions out of their homes. Lansing non-motorized transportation network initiatives seem to be getting their "legs" lately, too.
5. People are coming back downtown, and developers are taking notice.
Some perceived negatives:
1. Not much of a music scene. Sure, if you count folk and blues, then maybe it's OK. But it's incredibly difficult to see talented independent or national artists ever since the Temple Club closed. The city lacks venues.
2. The blue-collar mentality of the town has traditionally made it quite conservative in its initiatives, with people often not wanting to take risks in design.
3. Despite the positives of the region, there is still a lot of defeatist and negative talk. Michigan is bleeding jobs, but it also offers a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurs and artists who want access to cheap space and established markets. The negative talk in Michigan just gives people from outside the state a bad impression despite all of the potential.
4. Although the town has a good bus network, there's still very little talk about dedicated bus lanes or light rail.
Thanks for all your comments, folks.
Nude Dancing Again in Lansing, Michigan
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