Housing, placemaking, belonging will fuel economy that lasts
If we want sustainable growth in Northwest Indiana, we must treat housing and placemaking as the building blocks of “real” economic development. Together, they turn addresses into neighborhoods and projects into places where people live, work and gather.
The Region’s current path makes the case plain: our market is tight, our communities are shifting, and our competitiveness hinges on how we align housing production with place-quality investments.
Clear market signals
In spring 2024, sellers in Northwest Indiana were securing 96% of their asking prices with just 2.1 months of inventory — a seller’s market buoyed by in-migration from Illinois.
Yet the housing pipeline still lags demand across product types. That is why community-minded projects matter.
The Region embraces this approach, as is evidenced by Michigan City’s approved Tryon Meadow — 218 units mixing rentals, townhomes and single-family homes — pairs new housing with walking paths and a neighborhood layout; Hammond’s Memorial Park Senior Residences and Townhomes proposal adds age-friendly units next to planned for-sale lots.
These are more than inventory improvements. They are placemaking choices that support workforce attraction, aging in place and neighborhood foot traffic — each a precondition for healthy local economies.
Strong sense of community
Decades of research show neighborhoods with strong collective efficacy — neighbors’ willingness to act for the common good — see lower rates of violence even amid economic disadvantage.
That safety dividend lowers operating risk for retailers and helps corridors retain patrons after 5 p.m., turning one-time visitors into regulars.
In other words, placemaking investments that meet individual and community needs generate positive social and economic outcomes such as crime prevention and market growth. Research shows that the combined influence of a community’s skills, resources and its shared commitment to creating a sense of community supports community resilience.
Civic infrastructure
If housing is the steel that we build with, then placemaking is the station-area design that connects us to our daily lives, and civic infrastructure is the network that ensures communities and their residents can function, collaborate and thrive. It can be thought of as soft infrastructure.
The challenge is to recognize that civic infrastructure is equally important, although less tangible. This network of relationships, organizations and shared spaces enables residents to act collectively — and it is as critical to market confidence as roads or fiber.
Ways to multiply the impact:
- Create a regional civic leadership academy with IU Northwest and local foundations to train “civic entrepreneurs” to enhance our sense of community.
- Measure civic health alongside GDP — publish an annual civic vitality index tracking association activity, volunteer hours and public-realm projects. We can build on the work of the Indiana Bar Foundation and the Indiana Civic Health Index.
Why? Because every dollar spent on facades or rail upgrades yields more when paired with social capital investments. Civic infrastructure is the multiplier that transforms placemaking projects into community-building engines, sustaining momentum and fostering trust.
Affordability fundamental
Nationally, the 2025 State of the Nation’s Housing documents record renter cost burdens and 30-year-low home sales. In Indiana, a worker must now earn $22.07 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom at fair-market rental rates.
The affordability gap limits families’ economic well-being and stability, constrains hiring, and lowers spending in our communities.
The fix is a unique combination of more housing in places that attract talent and support economic growth, while enhancing a sense of community that fosters trust and a belief in the future of the Region.
The opportunity
Northwest Indiana has the momentum to realize its potential. In this next phase, we continue to build on our successes and identify ways to strengthen our civic infrastructure. We can set housing targets and fund placemaking.
However, building civic infrastructure will require intentional actions on the part of all who live, work and play in the Region. It is not a by-product of economic development but rather a way in which we define who we are, what is important to us as a community, and how individuals can connect and participate in decision making that impacts their everyday lives.
Economic development is successful when it takes root in a place. When we build homes and belonging — walkable blocks, safe crossings, shaded sidewalks, and strong civic networks — we build an economy that lasts. •
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