Who Are the Millennials? Dr. Michele Lee Kozimor-King Elizabethtown College

Question #1

• Which of these is another name for the Millennials? ▫ The New Boomers ▫ The Boomerang Generation ▫ Generation Y ▫ Peter Pan Generation

The Generation of Many Names • Millennials (most popular in the media) • Generation Me • Net Generation • New Boomers (children of the Baby Boomers) • Echo Boomers • Generation Y (placeholder name) • Generation 9/11 • Global Generation • Generation We • Start-Up Generation • Generation Next • Boomerang Generation • Peter Pan Generation

Question #2

• Those born between the following years comprise the Millennials? ▫ 1983-2001 ▫ 1980-1993 ▫ 1982-1999 ▫ 1980-2000

Demographic Details

• Millennials are the demographic cohort following Generation X

• No consensus definition; most commonly refers to those born between 1980 – 2000 (1983- 2001)

• Most common age bracket referred to is 18 to 34

• As of 2012, there were approximately 80 million (about 23- 25 % of U.S. Population) Millennials

Question #3

• The Millennial Generation is larger (population size) than which other generational cohort? ▫ The Baby Boomers ▫ The Good Warriors ▫ Generation X ▫ Lucky Few

Children of Baby Boomers and Generation X

Source: U.S. Census/Population Reference Bureau

Question #4

• Which of the following is NOT one of the common characteristics of Millennials? ▫ Empowered by Digital Technology ▫ Delayed Demographic Transitions ▫ Conservative and Conformist ▫ Most Educated Generation

Generational Characteristics

Source: Markus Moos (2014)

Common Characteristics

• High Degree of Parental Involvement: Parental safety net; co-dependent; “helicopter parents”

• Empowered by Digital Technology ** • Slow to Adulthood – delayed demographic transitions

like marriage and child-bearing • Education – most educated generation; most debt • Customize and Personalize Everything • Collaboration and Relationship Generation – Networks • Need for Speed • Value Social Justice and Corporate Integrity • Want entertainment and play in all areas of life

How do we distinguish Millennials from other generations?

What Do the Millennials Want? Michael Shields, M.A. Northeastern University

Conflicts of Interest

• The statements and viewpoints presented today do not reflect the opinions of Northeastern University.

National Trends

• The most transient population to date ▫ Accounted for 43.5% of all movers in US in 2010-2012

(Benetsky et al. 2015)

• Millennials prefer urban living ▫ Two-Thirds of 25-34 years old with a B.A. live in the

nation’s 51 largest metro areas (Cortright 2015) ▫ Account for a 37% of population increase in three mile

radius of city centers since 2000 (Cortright 2015)

• They are predominantly renters ▫ Construction of multifamily units (condos and rentals) is

at its highest level in 25 years (Searcey 2014)

Question #5

• Which of these characteristics do Millennials want in their neighborhoods? ▫ Walkability ▫ Access to public transportation ▫ Want to be able to use their car ▫ Many cultural amenities

Place-Based Economics

• Walkable neighborhoods ▫ But only willing to walk a half-mile or less

• Creative and cultural amenities ▫ Access to cultural venues, nightclubs, hip local businesses, and high-tech play-

scapes • Green space

▫ Because of their socialization in the suburbs • Want strong anchor amenities

▫ Good schools, housing, social services, etc. • Denser and racially/ethnically diverse neighborhoods

▫ Spur large waves of gentrification • Want to use public transportation

▫ But still want to use their car when necessary • Want to have the choice to relocate at a moments notice

▫ Always on the move, so don’t want to be contracted to be in an area for long periods of time

• Will choose an area of higher lifestyle appeal over area with high job prospects ▫ Will factor-in expenses ▫ Have the parental safety-net

Pennsylvanian Millennials

• Surveyed 339 undergraduate Millennial students from five representative institutions across the state

• Asked them to rate characteristics of their ideal-future residences and neighborhoods

• Also asked them to provide characteristics of their “childhood” neighborhoods

• Replicated national surveys from the NAR and the GSS

What do Pennsylvania’s Millennials Want? • 42.2% wanted to live in a city, while

28.8% wanted to live in a mixed-use suburban neighborhood

• 89.8% stated that neighborhood amenities would affect their residential choice over house amenities

• 45.4% wanted to live in established neighborhoods with older homes and mature trees

• 42% wanted everything in the neighborhood to be in walking distance from the home

• 45.9% would still want to have a car

Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA

South Side, Pittsburgh, PA

A Real World Example

• Belmar development in Lakewood, CO

• Five miles Southwest of Denver

• Failing mall ▫ “asphalt desert” ▫ “civic embarrassment”

• Public-Private Partnership to attract Millennials to the area

The Take-Aways

• The social landscape is changing, but is this the result of the Millennials

• Millennials want amenities – particularly neighborhood amenities

• Battleground for first-ring suburbs and small towns

• Still exploratory findings ▫ See the later members of Generation X to predict

Millennials’ future preferences

References • American Planning Association (APA). 2014. “Two Generations’ Views on the Future of Communities: Millennials, Boomers, and New Directions for

Planning and Economic Development.” Investing in Place for Economic Growth and Development, a Research Summary, May. Washington, D.C.: American Planning Association.

• Benetsky, Megan J., Charlyman A. Burd, Melanie A. Rapino. 2015. Young Adult Migration: 2007-2009 to 2010-2012. United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey Reports, ACS-31. Washington, D.C.: United States Census Bureau.

• Carlson, Elwood. 2009. “20th-Century U.S. Generations.” Population Bulletin, 64(1), March. Washington D.C.: Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved from: (http://www.prb.org/Publications/Reports/2009/20thcenturyusgenerations.aspx).

• Cool Pittsburgh. 2014. “South Side.” University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved from: (http://www.coolpgh.pitt.edu/living/south-side.php). • Cortright, Joe. 2014. “The Young and the Restless and the Nation’s Cities.” City Report, October. Portland OR: City Observatory. Retrieved from:

(http://cityobservatory.org/ynr/). • Ehrenhalt, Alan. 2012. The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City. New York City, NY: Vintage Books. • Florida, Richard. 2008. Who’s Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. New York

City, NY: Basic Books. • Florida, Richard. 2012. The Rise of the Creative Class Revisited. New York City, NY: Basic Books. • Howe, Neil and William Strauss. 2000. Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation. New York City, NY: Vintage Books. • Kiger, Patrick J. 2015. “Moving to Where the Price is Right.” Urban Land: The Magazine of the Urban Land Institute, February 9. Retrieved from:

(http://urbanland.uli.org/economy-markets-trends/moving-price-right/). • Lowrey, Annie. 2013. “Do Millennials Stand a Chance in the Real World?” The New York Times Magazine, March 26. Retrieved from:

(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/magazine/do-millennials-stand-a-chance-in-the-real-world.html). • Miller, Claire Cain. 2014. “Where Young College Graduates are Choosing to Live.” The New York Times, October 20. Retrieved from:

(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/upshot/where-young-college-graduates-are-choosing-to-live.html?_r=0). • Moos, Markus. 2014a. “From Gentrification to Youthification: How Inner City Redevelopment and the Influx of Young Adults are Increasing the

Importance of Age in Delineating Urban Space.” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate School of Planning, November 1, Philadelphia, PA.

• Moos, Markus. 2014b. “‘Generationed’ Space: Societal Restructuring and Young Adults’ Changing Residential Location Patterns. The Canadian Geographer, 58(1): 11-33.

• North, Anna. 2014. “For Millennials, Home Might Be a Moving Target.” The New York Times, December 11. Retrieved from: (http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/for-millennials-home-might-be-a-moving-target/).

• Raphelson, Samantha. 2014. “Some Millennials – And Their Parents – Are Slow to Cut the Cord.” National Public Radio (npr), Special Series: New Boom, October 21. Retrieved from: (http://www.npr.org/2014/10/21/356951640/some-millennials-and-their-parents-are-slow-to-cut-the-cord).

• Searcey, Dionne. 2014. “No Picket Fence: Younger Adults Opting to Rent.” The New York Times, October 22. Retrieved from: (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/business/no-picket-fence-younger-adults-opting-to-rent.html?_r=0).

• Tapscott, Don. 2009. Grown up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. New York City, NY: McGraw Hill. • Taylor, Paul. 2014. The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown. New York City, NY: PublicAffairs. • Twenge, Jean M. 2014. Generation Me: Why Today’s Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable than Ever Before.

(Revised Edition). New York City, NY: Atria Paperback.