Nashville Chamber releases Vital Signs 2019 report

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce's Vital Signs 2019 report is now available to download on our website. The report was developed by the Chamber’s Policy and Research Center in partnership with the Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC), which serves as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Nashville area.

Vital Signs 2019 tracks existing and emerging issues that impact Middle Tennessee's economic well-being and quality of life. Vital Signs considers each issue and pairs data from the Census and other sources with original survey data of Middle Tennessee residents – providing an analysis of the issues before the region and how Middle Tennesseans feel about these issues. This year’s edition highlights five issues impacting Middle Tennessee, and also provides takeaways and solution-oriented ideas on how residents might engage on these issues of regional importance.

Vital Signs 2019 highlights five issues impacting the Middle Tennessee Region:
  • Workforce Development
  • Transit / Transportation
  • Housing
  • Infrastructure
  • Solid Waste

These topics were chosen before the advent of COVID-19 and the survey of Middle Tennessee residents occurred in early fall 2019. Yet even at that moment – when the region’s economy was growing, consumer confidence was high and by many measures the region was thriving, the data and Middle Tennesseans’ survey responses reveal that many Middle Tennesseans were not fully able to capitalize on the region’s success. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of the challenges faced by Middle Tennessee communities and residents and will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the region’s economy.

Vital Signs 2019 includes the following key takeaways:
Workforce Development
  • The Clarksville and Nashville MSAs have significant untapped talent. Adults who could be trained or re-trained can provide a game-changing pipeline of talent for existing and new businesses, as well as provide life-changing opportunities for Middle Tennessee residents.
  • The continued expansion of automation and artificial intelligence will change the nature of many existing, well-paid jobs. This new reality requires action across the region to prepare workers to thrive in this new environment.
Transit / Transportation
  • The value of transportation is in providing access – giving residents access to jobs, education and amenities – to fully participate in the region’s economy and civic life.
  • Middle Tennessee residents remain interested in road-widening to address congestion concerns despite research and statements from transportation officials and elected officials in Middle Tennessee that road-widening won’t alleviate onerous commutes.
  • With Middle Tennessee’s rapid and projected growth, the region must invest in transit to allow more residents to move efficiently and conveniently around the region.
  • Dedicated transit funding is key to the continued vitality of the region, yet Middle Tennessee residents are unclear on which revenue sources can generate enough to meaningfully impact transportation.
Housing
  • In the Vital Signs survey, Middle Tennessee residents voiced concern about their future financial security. Housing expenses are the largest expense faced by most households and have risen rapidly in Middle Tennessee.
  • In the same survey, 39% of respondents met the definition of “housing cost burdened,” by spending over 30% of their income on housing. The figure was higher for respondents who were African American or Latino, who are renters or who had lower educational attainment.
  • Housing affordability and workforce development are linked in two directions. Residents with lower educational attainment are less successful in the workforce and more likely to be housing cost burdened. Meanwhile, the lack of housing to meet the needs – cost, size, location – of workers impacts where workers can live and their access to jobs and education.
Infrastructure
  • Investments in transportation, education, health, safety and welfare needs account for more than 90% of overall infrastructure needs.
  • Among the various infrastructure needs, regional mayors often point to the construction and maintenance of schools as the most pressing challenge.
Solid Waste
  • With Middle Tennessee’s continued growth comes commensurate growth in the amount of residential and commercial garbage generated in the region.
  • Regional leaders are exploring solid waste management alternatives.
  • The Vital Signs survey of Middle Tennessee residents shows that the public has little understanding of the problem or agreement on what should be done to address the increasing trash challenge.

The COVID-19 outbreak creates challenges and uncertainty regarding the economic future and outlook of the business community throughout the region. The Vital Signs 2019 report remains relevant, because it provides a snapshot of the region’s economy pre-COVID-19, because the issues that Middle Tennessee faced before the pandemic remain, and because the region’s rate of recovery depends, in large part, to how these issues are addressed during the current crisis.

Click here to download the full report and view previous Vital Signs findings.

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