Fresh Water and the Great Lakes Economic Future
On November 10, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosted a symposium to explore the increasing value of the Great Lakes region's fresh water and associated habitat to its residents. As the nation's population and income have grown, the recreational use of lakes, wetlands and other open spaces has increased. How much will the recreational use of the Great Lakes grow and in what ways?
A related set of policy issues involves how the Great Lakes region can or should respond to rising demand for clean water, recreation and adjacent development. Investment in preservation and cleanup of Great Lakes waters present one set of policy options, as do other decisions concerning regulation, land use policies and consumptive uses of the waters.
The conference also investigated the region's legacy of fresh water treatment technology. Can the region's water treatment firms and its university researchers become a global center in providing its services to a world where clean fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce?
Recreation and Retirement Communities: The Midwest and the Demographics of Tomorrow