Grand Valley students give their ideas for growing Michigan’s population
ALLENDALE TWP. — Students at Grand Valley State University were asked Monday to provide input on how to make Michigan a more desirable place to live and work.
Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe visited GVSU on Monday, Sept. 25, as part of a listening tour for the Growing Michigan Together Council. During the meeting, dozens of students shared their thoughts on how the state can better attract and retain residents in an effort to grow the population.
“You are all here for an important reason today,” Doe said. “We need to know what you love about this place and we need to know what could be different and better to keep you here.”
More: Whitmer announces new effort to reverse Michigan's sluggish population growth
Students were separated into groups to discuss transportation, higher education and outdoor recreation.
In outdoor recreation, students' suggestions included a centralized app to provide information on the state’s recreation opportunities, more accessible parks and trails, promoting field trips to the Great Lakes for K-12 students and highlighting winter activities to improve the general attitude toward Michigan winters.
Students showed a lot of support for a train system to better connect the state. They also suggest bus routes to connect major cities with surrounding neighborhoods and bus or train connections from airports to surrounding areas.
The higher education group suggested a couple of tuition initiatives, including keeping in-state tuition rates low to encourage students to stay in Michigan. Students also suggested a reimbursement program for out-of-state students, where a portion of their tuition could be reimbursed if they stay in Michigan for a set period of time after graduation.
Common themes across the state, according to Doe, included transit, affordability of higher education and improving education outcomes. The biggest commonality, though, has been housing concerns.
“We’ve really heard about housing everywhere we go,” Doe said. “In some cases it’s stock, they need more stock, in other cases it’s affordability. In each region of the state, I know that’s a top issue.”
Doe said the council will have more than 70 listening sessions across the state.
“We wouldn’t be successful at this if it were not a group project,” Doe said. “People are showing up to give us their opinion and their insight. I think if we can come up with a strategy together that folks can see themselves in, we do have a great shot at it."
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The Growing Michigan Together Council was established by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in June with the goal of developing a “long-term vision that addresses current and future challenges” in the state. It will advise the governor on policies to grow Michigan’s population.
A meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 12, for workgroups to present draft recommendations. Doe said the meeting will be livestreamed. Final recommendations are expected in early December.
For more information, visit growingmichigan.org.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU students give their ideas for growing Michigan’s population
