Local Economic Development in the 21st Centur


Book Description

Provides a comprehensive look at local economic development and public policy, placing special emphasis on quality of life and sustainability. It draws extensively on case studies, and includes both mainstream and alternative perspectives in dealing with economic growth and development issues. The contributions of economic theories and empirical research to the policy debates, and the relationship of both to quality of life and sustainability are explored and clarified.




Local Economic Programs, a Case Book


Book Description




The Local Economy Solution


Book Description

Reinventing economic development as if small business mattered In cities and towns across the nation, economic development is at a crossroads. A growing body of evidence has proven that its current cornerstone—incentives to attract and retain large, globally mobile businesses—is a dead end. Even those programs that focus on local business, through buy-local initiatives, for example, depend on ongoing support from government or philanthropy. The entire practice of economic development has become ineffective and unaffordable and is in need of a makeover. The Local Economy Solution suggests an alternative approach in which states and cities nurture a new generation of special kinds of businesses that help local businesses grow. These cutting-edge companies, which Shuman calls “pollinator businesses,” are creating jobs and the conditions for future economic growth, and doing so in self-financing ways. Pollinator businesses are especially important to communities that are struggling to lift themselves up in a period of economic austerity, when municipal budgets are being slashed. They also promote locally owned businesses that increase local self-reliance and evince high labor and environmental standards. The book includes nearly two dozen case studies of successful pollinator businesses that are creatively facilitating business and neighborhood improvements, entrepreneurship, local purchasing, local investing, and profitable business partnerships. Examples include Main Street Genome (which provides invaluable data to improve local business performance), Supportland (which is developing a powerful loyalty card for local businesses), and Fledge (a business accelerator that finances itself through royalty payments). It also shows how the right kinds of public policy can encourage the spread of pollinator businesses at virtually no cost.




Investing in Kids


Book Description

This book presents arguments for the following propositions: Local economic development strategies in the United States should include extensive investments in high quality early childhood programs, such as prekindergarten (pre K) education, child care, and parenting assistance. Economic development policies should also include reforms in business tax incentives. But economic development benefitsChigher earnings per capita in the local communityCcan be better achieved if business incentives are complemented by early childhood programs. Economic development benefits can play an important role in motivating a grassroots movement for investing in our kids.




Economic Revitalization


Book Description

Economic Revitalization is unique in that it discusses leading revitalization strategies in the context of both city and suburban settings, offering case studies of program development and implementation. In Economic Revitalization: Cases and Strategies for City and Suburb Fitzgerald and Leigh answer the need for a text that incorporates social justice and sustainability into how we think about and practice economic development. It is one of the first to talk about how revitalization strategies are implemented in both cities and suburbs, particularly inner-ring suburbs that are experiencing decline previously associated only with inner-city neighborhoods. After setting the context with a brief history of economic development practice and its shortcomings, Fitzgerald and Leigh focus on six economic development strategies: sectoral strategies, Brownfield redevelopment, industrial retention, commercial revitalization, industrial and office property reuse, and workforce development. Each of these chapters begins with an overview of the strategy and then presents cases of how it is being implemented. The cases draw from Atlanta, Chicago and its suburbs, Emeryville, Kalamazoo, Louisville, New Haven, Portland, Sandy Springs, and Seattle (and suburban King County). They illustrate the tradeoffs often made in achieving one goal at the expense of another. Although they admit that some of the cases come up short in illustrating a more equitable and sustainable economic development practice, Fitzgerald and Leigh conclude with an optimistic view that the field is changing. The book is aimed at students and practitioners of economic development planning who seek to foster stronger economies and greater opportunity in inner cites and older suburbs. It is also meant to assist planners in thriving new towns and suburban communities seeking to avoid future economic decline as their communities mature. Economic Revitalization: Discusses practice in both suburban and inner-city settings Integrates the planning values of social justice and sustainability into the discussion of implementation strategies Includes cases that reveal the political nature of the planning process and the types of tradeoffs that often must be made Provides insights for planners seeking to adopt "best practice" programs from other localities




Planning Local Economic Development


Book Description

Written by authors with years of academic, regional, and city planning experience, the classic Planning Local Economic Development has laid the foundation for practitioners and academics working in planning and policy development for generations. With deeper coverage of sustainability and resiliency, the new Sixth Edition explores the theories of local economic development while addressing the issues and opportunities faced by cities, towns, and local entities in crafting their economic destinies within the global economy. Nancey Green Leigh and Edward J. Blakely provide a thoroughly up-to-date exploration of planning processes, analytical techniques and data, and locality, business, and human resource development, as well as advanced technology and sustainable economic development strategies.




Local Economic Development


Book Description

A comprehensive introduction to the economics of local economic development. The approach is people centered and recognizes contributions from other social sciences.




The Civic Culture of Local Economic Development


Book Description

"The focus on economic development policy provides a window on local decision making and allows for the development of a theory, introduced by the authors, about the role of local civic culture in framing local decisions of all types. This ultimately provides a theoretical vehicle for categorizing cities and predicting policy outcomes.




Promoting Sustainable Local and Community Economic Development


Book Description

Growing local economies, empowering communities, revitalizing downtowns, developing entrepreneurship, building leadership, and enhancing nonprofits — you can achieve all these benefits and more with a comprehensive and strategic revitalization plan. Chronicling the struggle of local revitalization as organizers move from trial and error to effective revitalization strategies, Promoting Sustainable Local and Community Economic Development documents the current transformation in community revitalization from market-based incentives to mixed strategies of public sector learning, partnerships, and community capacity. Knowledge about the field and what works is growing, but not always publicized and readily accessible. This reference surveys the breadth of innovative place and people development practices, presenting lessons and examples at a general and textured level, putting information about innovative ways to change, influence, and improve the economic development process within easy reach. Roland Anglin brings his unique vantage point to the topic; his experience as a practitioner and applied academic allowed him to see how community economic development practices grow over time in size, scale, and impact. He highlights the difference between what is now termed community economic development (CED) and traditional local economic development practice, specifically the priority placed on community involvement in economic development partnerships between the private sector and government. The book includes case studies that demonstrate what has and has not worked in revitalization efforts, as well as how active public and private sector partnerships have been the most effective in revitalization efforts. A Resource Guide is included at the end of the book for readers who may want a more expansive understanding of community economic development.




Understanding Local Economic Development


Book Description

This book offers insights into the process and the practice of local economic development. Bridging the gap between theory and practice it demonstrates the relevance of theory to inform local strategic planning in the context of widespread disparities in regional economic performance. The book summarizes the core theories of economic development, applies each of these to professional practice, and provides detailed commentary on them. This updated second edition includes more recent contributions - regional innovation, agglomeration and dynamic theories – and presents the major ideas that inform economic development strategic planning, particularly in the United States and Canada. The text offers theoretical insights that help explain why some regions thrive while others languish and why metropolitan economies often rise and fall over time. Without theory, economic developers can only do what is politically feasible. This text, however, provides them with a logical tool for thinking about development and establishing an independent basis from which to build the local consensus needed for evidence-based action undertaken in the public interest. Offering valuable perspectives on both the process and the practice of local and regional economic development, this book will be useful for both current and future economic developers to think more profoundly and confidently about their local economy.