4. Speaking of speeches: Give a series of talks at the colleges in and around Baltimore and ask students to consider putting down roots here and getting involved in making Baltimore a great city. Tell them your administration will work hard at helping startups and established businesses so that there's more opportunity for them. Promote the amenities that young people desire, and make sure they know about incentives for first-time homebuyers. Make this direct appeal, and you'll be building on a trend of the last decade. By 2012, a survey by the Baltimore Collegetown Network found the percentage of students who planned to remain in Baltimore had climbed from 19 percent to 38 percent. Two years ago, a study by the City Observatory think tank showed impressive growth in the number of college-educated people, ages 25 to 34, living within three miles of downtown; the increase was fourth-highest among all metropolitan areas. Young people seek not only careers but lives of meaning, being part of something big. Tell them you want them to be part of the next Baltimore.