An interdisciplinary team of MSU students and scholars from planning, construction management, landscape architecture, and actuarial sciences is examining tools, models, policies, and practices that can sustainably address human structural abandonment. The team is examining the domicology-the continuum of structural abandonment from construction, building use, abandonment, and demolition or deconstruction, to material reuse-of abandoned sites in the Midwest (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Domicology: The study of policies and practices of human structural abandonment.

Many Midwestern cities have suffered population and economic decline, resulting in widespread residential, commercial, and industrial property abandonment. This flood of abandonment and subsequent blight has left communities with large numbers of vacant properties and limited public resources to remove these abandoned structures. Large scale abandonment presents a clear public health and safety hazard requiring public funding for blight removal. Current policies governing abandoned private property and the removal of blighted structures shift much of the negative economic, social, and environmental costs of abandonment to the public (general taxpayers rather than property taxpayers). Innovative policies and practices that can change our built environment paradigm to achieve a more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically feasible system are the primary goals of this research team.

Team members are examining a variety of policies and practices, including development of innovative tools that can finance blight removal in a more sustainable and equitable way; building construction and deconstruction practices that maximize material salvage and reuse; and researching the potential economic and environmental impacts of a building life cycle economic sector (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2. Materials recycling process.

Construction and demolition waste is one of the heaviest waste streams generated in the United States. According to the Pollution Prevention Resources Exchange, around 245,000 residential and 44,000 commercial structures are demolished each year. The U.S. Environmental Protect Agency estimated 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste is generated each year and construction-related wastes constitute a quarter of landfill volume nationally.

The European Commission has adopted legislation that requires a minimum 70% (by weight) of construction and demolition waste to be either recycled or reused by 2020. To achieve this target, strict policies, market incentives, and education programs are being implemented.

The EU's commitment to structural material recycle/reuse is reflected in enterprises forming in these sectors. In 2010, the sector of waste and materials recovery (sector NACE Rev. 2 Division 38) comprised 41,000 enterprises in Europe. These enterprises are divided in three subsectors: 1) materials recovery subsector (18,700 enterprises), 2) waste collection subsector (16,500 enterprises), and 3) waste treatment and disposal subsector (5,800 enterprises). On the whole, 795,000 people were employed and the value-added reached $56.1 billion in 2010.

The development of a recycle/reuse economy maximizing the material salvage and repurposing of structural materials has the potential to stimulate economy growth in the Midwest.

For more information on this initiative contact Dr. Rex L. LaMore at lamore@msu.edu.

The expo was the first binational activity resulting from the Binational Memorandum of Understanding on economic collaboration that was facilitated by the CCED team and signed last year at the Binational Blue Water Collaboration Conference (June 11, 2014) in Sarnia, Ontario.  Organized over a six-month span, U.S. and Canadian planning organizations included:

• St. Clair County Economic Development Alliance
• Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
• Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce
• Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce
• I-69 International Trade Corridor/Next Michigan Corp.
• Southwest (Ontario) Economic Alliance
• MSU Center for Community and Economic Development

Both the U.S. Export Assistance Center and Export Development Canada provided on-site trade support, with staff available to answer questions and provide guidance to participants interested in exporting and international trade.

Overwhelmingly positive feedback was provided from an on-site survey, with the overall expo rating being either "excellent" or "very good."  No lower ratings were received. New international business was clearly facilitated by the expo; 50% of respondents who had not previously engaged in international trade said they expect to do business with a new international trading partner as a result of the event.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Centers in the Chicago Region initiated the Great Lakes Regional Training Initiative (GLRTI) in 2013 to assist regions in the six states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin by promoting technical and training assistance. GLRTI strives to make valuable university resources available to economic development professionals in all six states.

In 2014, Purdue University's EDA University Center developed and launched the Great Lakes Regional Training Initiative. The GLRTI website is a great one-stop shop, showcasing all the work of the EDA University Centers. All of the University Centers in the GLRTI collaborate and their partners across the six states have contributed to the three newsletters published to date (September 2014, January 2015, and March 2015).

Within the past three months, the GLRTI has hosted two webinars:

Purdue University's Center for Regional Development hosted the Tipping Points and Indicators webinar, a decision-making support system for watershed planning. This webinar focused on developing sustainable land use strategies, protecting natural resources, and enhancing local economies.

The second webinar, held in April, was organized and hosted by Michigan State University at the Center for Community and Economic Development's EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI). The title of the webinar was Establishing an Entrepreneurial Friendly Region; presenters examined the elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and provided specific tools and policies pertaining to the Great Lakes Region. A closer look showed the role of scale and setting in determining infrastructure needs and services for entrepreneurs. Saurabh Lall, Research Director at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, led the discussion with his expertise on the impact that small and growing businesses have on poverty and economic development. He also described Aspen's newly developed diagnostic tool kit to measure entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world based on nine different frameworks out of several institutions (George Mason University, Babson College, and World Bank).

Following  Lall, Amanda Blondeau of Northern Initiatives, a previous REI Co-Learning Plan author, presented her organization's series of videos based on the Money Smart Model that she and her partners produced in Michigan's central Upper Peninsula. After Blondeau, another REI Co-Learning Plan author, Angela Barbash of ReConsider in Ypsilanti, Michigan, described her team's co-learning plan from last year. This plan outlined the recently adopted MILE law and what the potential impact may be for Michigan. Barbash explained that there is an awareness issue for this law and a general misunderstanding of the due diligence work that is necessary to be successful. She announced that Indiana is also pursuing this type of legislation. Lastly, Michael Forsyth from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation REVOLVE program presented his co-learning plan, where he takes readers through the process involved in starting a Pop-Up Businesses program.