Partnerships Opposites attract > A many of its neighbours.
Heavily dependant on the public sector and its traditional car-manufacturing base for jobs, an industry that was already in decline, Michigan lost some 850,000 jobs out of 4 million between 2000 and 2010 and state officials were desperate to find a way out of the crisis.
But among the potential bright spots on the horizon was the Detroit Region Aerotropolis, an initiative developed by a mixture of public and private companies, known collectively as the Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation (ADC), that promised to create an estimated 60,000 local jobs and make the region more competitive. Based on the creation of a 60,000-acre
special economic area around Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run airports, the areotropolis initiative proved popular not just with local governments, which could see the benefits of publicly-owned assets contributing to economic growth, but also with private companies looking to capture
28 Issue 1, Volume 5
Image courtesy of Wayne County Airport Authority/ Vito Palmisano.
Are public-private partnerships a good way to develop an aerotropolis? Oliver Clark investigates.
t the height of the global economic crisis, the state of Michigan was suffering more than
new markets and take advantage of enhanced global connectivity. Today, ADC counts the seven municipalities surrounding the airports, Wayne and Washtenaw counties and private companies, such as UPS, DTE Energy and Walbridge amongst its members and that mix has helped make the project a success. “The ability to get all those companies and government authorities to sign on the dotted line is crucial, we could not just do the same thing we have always done, we needed to inject more diversity, we cannot just rely on manufacturing, we all saw this as a way to stimulate economic development,” says Anthony VanDerworp, director of economic development and energy at Washtenaw County. On February 24, 2011, the Detroit Aerotropolis took a big step forward when after years of preparation and political lobbying it became the first certified Next Michigan Development Corporation (NMDC) in the state. The designation means ADC, can now offer a wide range of tax breaks and other incentives to entice companies to settle on renaissance zones within 60,000 acres
surrounding the Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run airports. The NMDC breakthrough will, it is
hoped, speed the aerotropolis’ development, but it is doubtful the project would have come so far had it not been for the unprecedented level of co- operation between public and private interests to see it work. It even counted support from both Republican and Democrat state legislators.
So what strengths does each partner bring to the table? For VanDerworp a crucial synergy is that local government can provide the expertise in urban planning and zoning, an understanding of the regulatory framework and the persistence to get legislation passed, while the private sector has the local contacts and the money to make things happen. For example, the not-for-profit Business Leaders of Michigan, an organisation devoted to stimulating economic development and a member of ADC, funded the Jones Lang Lasalle study that identified the potential development and job creation opportunities associated with an aerotropolis.
GLOBAL AIRPORT CITIES
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