Author shares tips to make Sterling more lovable, fun

STERLING HEIGHTS — Love was in the air during a special Jan. 30 Sterling Heights strategic planning session at the Sterling Heights Community Center.

Peter Kageyama, the author of “For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places,” visited Sterling Heights to share with officials some U.S. city success stories, as well as his own impressions of Sterling Heights and some advice on how to make it more lovable. The city says it paid $5,000 for Kageyama’s speaking fee.

Before Kageyama spoke, City Manager Mark Vanderpool mentioned that City Council members and administrators have read “For the Love of Cities.” He said he gave Kageyama a tour of Sterling Heights prior to the meeting.

“He’s a widely recognized thought leader in the area of community and economic development,” Vanderpool explained. “He’s been called the Pied Piper of city love and the best friend of cities.”

According to Kageyama’s website, he graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and also practiced law for a couple of years after going to law school at Case Western Reserve University.

Kageyama said he has asked people around the world whether they love their cities. While he acknowledged that he is preaching to the choir at this meeting, he said emotions are contagious and that it’s up to city stakeholders to be “emotional standard bearers” and create a “virtuous cycle” of positive energy.

Kageyama explained how it’s common for many people to hyperfocus on municipal issues like potholes while ignoring the importance of beauty and art. He showed a pyramid chart similar to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs chart — only this pyramid puts “functional” as a city’s foundation, with layers going upward like “safe,” “comfortable,” “convivial” and finally the capstone of “interesting.”

In order to create a lovable city, Kageyama said, a core question leaders should ask is, “Where is the fun?”

“If you take nothing else away from what I’m going to tell you today and apply that to your ongoing strategic planning process, of incorporating the lens of fun into all of the other stuff, I guarantee you, you will have better results just based on that alone,” he said.

Kageyama said cities should create “love notes” for their residents — amenities that may seem relatively small, yet are personal and meaningful.

One example of a love note is public art. Kageyama mentioned how he visited The Halo on Hall Road, adding that he really likes the sculpture and even its “very unfortunate nickname.” He praised Sterling Heights officials for having the courage to install it and make it part of the city’s identity.

“But here’s the thing — people noticed it,” he said. “That is the standard, to me, for good public art. … And if it gets a derogatory nickname, that’s even better, because it actually gets people fired up, and you remember this kind of stuff.”

Kageyama said another popular love note is dog parks, adding that they have become community hubs and part of the “emotional infrastructure of a place.” Although Sterling Heights already has a dog park at Delia Park, Kageyama suggested that the city also build one in Dodge Park, given its proximity to other amenities.

Kageyama also classified murals as love notes that can attract attention and make a place feel alive, different and special. He said art projects similar to murals can also be done to crosswalks and even bollards.

“It’s about the Instagram moment,” he said, later adding, “There is an immense power in a simple coat of paint.”

Rituals and traditions are another way that cities can stand out, he said. He mentioned how Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, holds a dinner event on a bridge, and he wondered if something like dinner or drinks could happen on the Dodge Park bridge crossing the Clinton River. He praised the city for offering the Dodge Park ice rink as a way to enjoy the farmers market pavilion during the winter.

Kageyama said some critics may point to the cost of making cities lovable and may propose using that spending on fixing potholes instead. But he said that love letters like public art have a value in addition to their cost, and that there is a cost to a city being boring and ugly.

“Those absolutely do have a cost, and I guarantee you that the people who are obsessed with the cost of things have never thought about it in those terms,” he said.

Kageyama closed his message by encouraging city stakeholders to swing for the fences and not be afraid of making a mistake, adding that only making incremental changes is the path to mediocrity and long-term failure.

When city officials were given a chance to ask questions, Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor noted how many people want city leaders to run the city like a business. But he said even successful businesses have more leeway to try something, fail and evolve.

“Politicians do not like to take risks because when we take risks and we fail, we’re voted out of office and then we’re gone,” Taylor said.

In response, Kageyama said life is inherently risky, and “taking the arrow” is part of being a leader. But he said being transparent and explaining to residents the strategy behind pursuing a goal can help limit political damage.

“I think people are probably more forgiving if they actually understand what the potential upside is,” he said. “A mild dose of failure … might not be fatal to your next election.”

At the end of the presentation, Vanderpool said the city looks forward to working with Kageyama and his team during Sterling Heights’ master plan process.

Learn more about Sterling Heights by visiting sterlingheights.gov or by calling (586) 446-2489. Find out more about Kageyama by visiting fortheloveofcities.com.