"The next wave of Maine homebuyers will value cellphones more than cars and prefer to live in communities where they can walk to work, shop and socialize, according to Evan Richert, former director of the State Planning Office.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 400 municipal officials, business leaders, development professional and planning specialists Tuesday during a GrowSmart Maine summit at the Augusta Civic Center, Richert said to the maturation of Gen Y - which he defined as people born between 1983 and 2001 - will alter the way Maine communities grow and function in the coming decades.
About 301,000 Mainers - 23 percent - fall into the Gen Y category, compared with 381,000 baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, according to Richert. "In 2006, the leading edge of Gen Y was just entering young adulthood," Richert said. This is a longtime market that we are talking about." Richert listed four key changes that have occurred since 2006, when GrowSmart maine first released "Charting Maine's Future: An Action Plan for Promoting Sustainable Prosperity and Quality Places." The great recession, higher gas prices, greater online connectivity and the initial influx of Gen X into the "household information" market are driving changes in how Maine communities should prepare for the future, he said.
"Wherever they go, they will demand choices - technology in affordable homes, places where they can experience life in a different way than the low-density suburbs," Richert said, citing data compiled by the Urban Land Institute.
GrowSmart Maine had commissioned the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program to complete the comprehensive report on how Maine could adapt government, education, business and other institutions to position the state for success in the 21st century.
- Lewiston Sun Journal -- October 24, 2012 -- B7 & B8 -- 104 Park Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240
Imagine the potential for community libraries. If we have a new generation of citizens who prefer to walk within their social neighborhood, then they will be moving closer to its cities and municipal services. A community library within walking distance, near the markets and restaurants they will frequent means convenience. A community library that offers open wi-fi means those residing close enough can benefit by accessing the Internet through their servers, thereby saving money by not using as much bandwidth with their own provider or even being able to avoid having another provider relationship and the associated expenses.
A community library with musical cd's and movie DVD's mean one less expense borrowing from NetFlix services or Redbox or even not having to purchase the most recent movies from the all-powerful Wal*mart. While some of the Gen Y are nearing their teens and the services a community library could provide to support their youth development, the upper end of the age range of Gen Y are nearing college graduation, beginning their professional careers and becoming parent-able within the next decade. For both of these groups, they could could participate in a community library's programs and services such as storytelling, story hours, activities, movie nights, and gaming - they could become the mentors and adult role models so desperately needed by the younger of Gen Y. Community libraries could partner with other municipal services to provide support to help mold their future community leaders and citizens.
Being within walking distance means more frequent access to the community library. Convenient and extended hours means adapting to the working schedule of the typical Gen Y and providing services around their hours. A community library's meeting room or auditorium is a value-added feature that could enable a telecommuter working from a home nearby the ability to host meetings in a convenient location where all of the expenses associated with that space are already paid for (ie electricity, heat, Internet). Some libraries do have policies about using space for profit-ventures, so one couldn't run a business out of a community library, but colleagues meeting to share information and resources isn't any different than students working together on a school project.
I have many friends whose children were born in the early part of Gen Y range...and those employed in more tech-savvy fields prefer work schedules that greatly differ from the industrial schedule of their parents or their parents' parents. No longer a 7 am to 3 pm or even a 9 am to 5 pm schedule. Those I know in this group prefer a 3 pm to midnight or a 5 pm to 2 am schedule. As one with experience for a 5pm to 2am schedule, I can say it was my favorite schedule I've ever had. It better matched my natural biorhythms of young adults. As more and more of our workforce is in collaboration with colleagues in varying timezones around the planet, it makes sense that schedules adapt. And a community library can adapt right along with it, especially since they equate to nearly a quarter of the population the community library is supposed to serve.
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