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Economic Competitiveness <br />Foster connected land use options to provide businesses and industries with access to <br />materials, markets, and talent. <br />Just as the region's residents need housing, so do the region's businesses and institutions need <br />land to locate their businesses and jobs. Commercial, industrial and institutional land uses <br />comprise only 6% of the region's land area compared to 22% for housing. Though a small <br />portion of the region's overall land supply, these land uses provide the locations for the jobs and <br />economic activity that lead to prosperity. <br />The Twin Cities region is expecting 550,000 new jobs between 2010 and 2040, and businesses <br />want to site those jobs in locations with access to materials, markets and talent. Freight <br />transportation networks, whether river, rail, air or road, transport raw materials and finished <br />goods to and from state, national and international markets. Proximity to workers — particularly <br />via attractive commute modes — increases employers' desirability as place to work and <br />minimizes the negative impact of travel time delays. <br />More than half of the region's 1.5 million jobs are located in job and activity centers, which <br />consume less than 2% of the land area of the region.16 Job and major activity centers (such as <br />major shopping) are more concentrated in nodes than other land uses. While half of the region's <br />jobs are located in these larger job centers, most of the remaining jobs are in community -scale <br />commercial centers and key industrial sites scattered throughout the region. Community centers <br />meet local shopping and convenience needs. Many industrial uses are less likely to be <br />concentrated or located within centers due to their transportation accessibility and space needs. <br />Businesses seeking to locate or expand in the region want viable location options — whether <br />defined by accessibility to transportation or talent. To maintain the region's economic <br />competitiveness, communities should ensure that local land use provides location choices that <br />can meet business needs. To achieve this, communities should engage business voices early <br />and often in the local comprehensive planning process. <br />While housing tends to last for generations, commercial and industrial buildings often have short <br />lifespans and turn over quickly to meet new locational needs. The cleanup of contaminated land <br />creates opportunities for new industry in places that have already benefited from prior <br />infrastructure investment. <br />Council Role <br />• Prioritize regional investment in places that are drivers of economic innovation and <br />growth for the region. <br />• Prioritize regional investments that improve access to national and international markets <br />by regional and state businesses. <br />16 Analysis using data from Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2012) and the <br />Metropolitan Council Generalized Land Use, 2010. <br />DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT <br />Last revised: February 21, 2014 77 <br />