Town Success Should Be A Family Affair

BY MATTHEW MERITT

​​Small town leaders should pay close attention to the percentage of their populations made up of children. If moms and dads feel comfortable raising families in their town, odds are it’s a pretty good place. 
 
Simply by giving it the eyeball test, Big Flats is just that. It’s quiet and safe, with reputable schools, friendly but competitive youth sports and an assortment of open spaces.
 
But as the town moves forward with an updated comprehensive plan in its back pocket, the plan itself notes the percentage of school-age children has dropped from 25 percent of the population in 2010 to 22 percent in 2019. This is despite a slight overall population increase over the same period. 

​Other towns in the area likely saw the same decline. One response would be to adjust to the statistics. A better one would be to try to influence them – and towns in this area may have what it takes to do that. 
 
First, town planning should be oriented toward responsible families, with leaders asking themselves how they can guide development to make family life a defining feature. Other statistics are all contributors to answering one question: Do people feel comfortable actively raising families and homes here?
 
Places like Big Flats already have features planners say are needed for families in urban areas: green spaces, decent schools, safety, museums. What they happily don’t have are the mushrooming unrest and violence plaguing the largest cities, many of whose residents, according to news reports, are fleeing to quieter parts of the country and driving up home prices. 

See Links Below
​on Urban Flight

Rochester Housing Market Has Been Heating Up

Demand For Rural
​Real Estate

40 to 24

The drop in percentage of children in the US population from 1900 to 2010. New York State is among the 10 states with the fastest rate of decrease. 
Source: ​The Annie E. Casey Foundation

​While rural areas cannot replicate the convenience of urban compactness and walkability, they certainly can use more insight in tying together their strong points with better transportation, including safer roadways and a focus on walkways and bike paths for secure, everyday, practical uses.
 
Such features would improve family life and make things more pleasant generally. There must be others, and thinking them through should be a focus – not just for leaders but for residents . 
 
Declining percentages of children and numbers of  families may, indeed, be a cultural trend and subject to the influence of  increasingly powerful central and state governments. But that doesn’t mean this area has to go along. The resources Chemung Valley municipalities have may not be much different from anyplace else in small-town America. But what’s done with those resources can be very different and the top priority should be getting to work on reversing the forecasted percentage drop in school-age children.
 
Healthy communities have good numbers of children raised in towns that realize wholesome family life is the most important element in planning for the future. 

Otherwise, there will be no future to plan for.

Thoughts on how your Chemung Valley town can contribute to family life? Drop them in the comments section below.

New York and the Nation

The 18 and under population in New York State has dropped from 24.3 percent in 2008 to 21.7 percent in 2019. Nationally it has dropped from 26 percent to 23.6 percent. 

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation