Housing Affordability and Transportation and Clinton Growth
As I recently mentioned, and as many have already heard, there are a lot of good things happening in Clinton with regards to economic growth and new-business. Taken together they have the potential to add anywhere from 600-1200 jobs to the community in the next 2-4 years. There have been several instances in the last few weeks where I have talked to people who are new to the Clinton-area business community who have chosen to not live in Clinton. Most commonly they are living in Bettendorf and commuting. With a bunch of new jobs coming to town we need to work on convincing potential new residents to live in Clinton, not the Quad Cities.
There are many factors that influence the potential new resident's (or, in many cases the new resident's spouse's) decision-making. I would speculate that the top five are, in no particular order: smell, schools, parks and recreation, proximity to shopping, and perception of existing housing stock.
We need to make a concerted effort in Clinton to address these perceptions, some of which are just plain false or at least fixable. The smell thing is really not an issue unless one lives close to the industrial zone. Prevailing winds ensure that on the vast majority of days, most people in town do not detect any industrial odors.
County-wide Clinton schools are better than Scott County schools. According to school statistics website psk12.com, Clinton County elementary schools score 149.5 overall with 76.5 in Grade 4 Reading and 73.0 in Grade 4 Math. Compared to Scott County's ranking of 148.0, 71.1 and 69.7, respectively. If one compares apples to apples, one of the better Clinton Elementary schools, Whittier Elementary scores 159.5 overall, 78.2 in 4th Grade Reading, and 81.3 in 4th Grad Math. The best elementary school in Bettendorf, Paul Norton Elementary, scores 164.8, 85.5, and 79.3. So, the "right" school in the "right" neighborhood in Clinton is very comparable to a similarly situated school in Bettendorf for the purposes of the well-heeled, while the average worker is probably going to find his or her children better off in Clinton.
But there is another factor to look at that is not well acknowledged but that can help make a compelling case for living in Clinton rather than the QCA. Transportation costs. A new initiative, co sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Center for Neighborhood Technology is working on a Housing and Transportation Affordability Index.
What they are saying is that proximity of the home to the most commonly accessed parts of the city makes the home more affordable. Clinton housing is already very affordable, but when compared to fuel prices, it begins to look even more so.
This is backed up by recent core inflationay data which shows that transportation costs make up the second largest segment of household spending next to housing. Furthermore, transportation costs have been one of the most inflation prone segments of the economy in recent years, as the below image from the always useful Barry Ritholtz illustrates.
I would think that what is called for is a well put-together series of talking points and brochures distributed via the Chamber of Commerce and the local realty community basically arguing the above with the transportation costs as the kicker.
You can paint the prospect a picture thusly: Let's say you are a young degreed professional moving to the Clinton area to take one of the new jobs. Let's suppose your income is $50,000/year. Furthermore, let's say you are fairly switched-on individual and drive a spanking new Toyoto Highlander Hybrind, which gets a whopping 28 MPG on the Highway between the Bettendorf Suburbs and Clinton. Your daily round-trip drive is approximately 90 miles. Let's say unleaded (ethanol added, of course) gas averages $3.00 a gallon over the next three years. Five days a week, 49 weeks a year times three years equals... $2,876.06. Combine that with the average housing cost of Clinton vs. Bettendorf you could easily be saving close to ten thousand dollars over the next three years, or six percent of your GROSS income. Take that money and apply it to a weekly shopping spree down at the malls in the QCA.
There are many factors that influence the potential new resident's (or, in many cases the new resident's spouse's) decision-making. I would speculate that the top five are, in no particular order: smell, schools, parks and recreation, proximity to shopping, and perception of existing housing stock.
We need to make a concerted effort in Clinton to address these perceptions, some of which are just plain false or at least fixable. The smell thing is really not an issue unless one lives close to the industrial zone. Prevailing winds ensure that on the vast majority of days, most people in town do not detect any industrial odors.
County-wide Clinton schools are better than Scott County schools. According to school statistics website psk12.com, Clinton County elementary schools score 149.5 overall with 76.5 in Grade 4 Reading and 73.0 in Grade 4 Math. Compared to Scott County's ranking of 148.0, 71.1 and 69.7, respectively. If one compares apples to apples, one of the better Clinton Elementary schools, Whittier Elementary scores 159.5 overall, 78.2 in 4th Grade Reading, and 81.3 in 4th Grad Math. The best elementary school in Bettendorf, Paul Norton Elementary, scores 164.8, 85.5, and 79.3. So, the "right" school in the "right" neighborhood in Clinton is very comparable to a similarly situated school in Bettendorf for the purposes of the well-heeled, while the average worker is probably going to find his or her children better off in Clinton.
But there is another factor to look at that is not well acknowledged but that can help make a compelling case for living in Clinton rather than the QCA. Transportation costs. A new initiative, co sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Center for Neighborhood Technology is working on a Housing and Transportation Affordability Index.
Transportation costs are a significant part of the average household budget. The average transportation expenditures for the median income household in the US in 2003 was 19.1%—the highest expenditure after housing. The Center for Transit-Oriented Development's Affordability Index recognizes this fact: living in a particular location is implicitly associated with transportation costs to get to that location.
What they are saying is that proximity of the home to the most commonly accessed parts of the city makes the home more affordable. Clinton housing is already very affordable, but when compared to fuel prices, it begins to look even more so.
This is backed up by recent core inflationay data which shows that transportation costs make up the second largest segment of household spending next to housing. Furthermore, transportation costs have been one of the most inflation prone segments of the economy in recent years, as the below image from the always useful Barry Ritholtz illustrates.
I would think that what is called for is a well put-together series of talking points and brochures distributed via the Chamber of Commerce and the local realty community basically arguing the above with the transportation costs as the kicker.
You can paint the prospect a picture thusly: Let's say you are a young degreed professional moving to the Clinton area to take one of the new jobs. Let's suppose your income is $50,000/year. Furthermore, let's say you are fairly switched-on individual and drive a spanking new Toyoto Highlander Hybrind, which gets a whopping 28 MPG on the Highway between the Bettendorf Suburbs and Clinton. Your daily round-trip drive is approximately 90 miles. Let's say unleaded (ethanol added, of course) gas averages $3.00 a gallon over the next three years. Five days a week, 49 weeks a year times three years equals... $2,876.06. Combine that with the average housing cost of Clinton vs. Bettendorf you could easily be saving close to ten thousand dollars over the next three years, or six percent of your GROSS income. Take that money and apply it to a weekly shopping spree down at the malls in the QCA.
posted by -cman- at 7/28/2006 08:37:00 AM
1 Comments:
Okay, so I didn't read the whole thing, but one point caught my eye about people communting to Clinton and the thing about the schools.
I go to CHS, and it seems like there are a lot of teachers there who live in either Davenport or Bettendorf and teach here.
That's about all I got.
Post a Comment
<< Home