Our colleague and Memphian Carol Coletta was quoted again on the front page of USA Today with the release of new research by CEOs for Cities about the movement of young, college-educated people to the urban core of the 51 largest U.S. cities over the past 10 years.

Previous research by her Chicago-based organization had shown that young, college-educated men and women are more inclined to want to live within three miles of the central business district and the numbers confirm that the trend continues.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, it’s a phenomenon that took place in Memphis, confirming once again the importance of a vibrant, appealing downtown and the area around it. So if we’re serious about keeping and attracting these young professionals, we need to be especially serious about what happens and what is offered in this three-mile area.

Here’s the article:

Educated 20- and 30-somethings are flocking to live downtown in the USA’s largest cities — even urban centers that are losing populatio

In more than two-thirds of the nation’s 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts.

Even in Detroit, where the population shrank by 25% since 2000, downtown added 2,000 young and educated residents during that time, up 59% , according to analysis of Census data by Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.

“This is a real glimmer of hope,” says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. “Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment.”

In Cleveland, which lost 17% of its population, downtown added 1,300 college-educated people ages 25 to 34, up 49%.

“It tells us we’ve been on the right track,” says David Egner, president and CEO of Detroit’s Hudson-Webber Foundation. Three anchor institutions —Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center — recently launched “15 by 15,” a campaign to bring 15,000 young, educated people to the downtown area by 2015.

Among the lures are cash incentives: a $25,000 forgivable loan to buy (need to stay at least five years) downtown or $3,500 on a two-year lease.

Preference for urban living among young adults — especially the well-educated — has increased sharply, data show:

In 2000, young adults with a four-year degree were about 61% more likely to live in close-in urban neighborhoods than their less-educated counterparts. Now, they are about 94% more likely.

In five metropolitan areas — Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington — about two-thirds of young adults who live in the city center have at least a four-year college degree. Less than a third of the nation’s 25- to 34-year-olds do.

“This is no longer anecdotal,” Coletta says. “Every metro area has good suburbs, but if you don’t have a strong downtown and close-in neighborhoods, then you’re not offering a choice that many of them are seeking. Offering that choice is a real competitive advantage for cities.”

To see the listing of the 51 cities, click here and scroll down to chart.

In a related piece of research, USA Today featured CEOs for Cities research on the resilience of cities when coping with higher gas prices. Cities with compact development patterns and extensive transit systems enable their residents to drive fewer miles on average than the typical American.

Based on variations in travel patterns across cities, CEOs for Cities identified the 10 urbanized areas most insulated from the negative effects of higher gas prices because of the shorter distances their residents have to travel.  They are:

1.    New Orleans        13.7
2.    New York             16
3.    Sacramento         18.4
4.    Portland              18.7
5.    Chicago              19.1
6.    Philadelphia        20
7.    Buffalo               20.2
8.    San Jose            21
9.    Providence         21.2
10.  San Francisco     21.3

Nationally, cities are a critical key to helping the nation use energy more efficiently and avoid the economic consequences of fuel price increases.  The Green Dividend estimates that decreasing driving by just one mile per person per day in the nation’s 51 largest metro areas would save $29 billion.