Part I. An examination of existing theories of community economic growth and decline -- Competing theories of community economic growth and decline -- A brief history of economic growth and decline -- Growth versus development -- In search of a new understanding -- Part II. Why local economies must grow: causes of increasing demand -- Economic stasis: "We don't want to grow; we want to stand still" -- Global forces on local economies -- National and state forces that impact local economies -- Over-dependence on a single company or a single industry: case studies -- Part III. The impacts of insufficient local growth -- Impacts on the secondary and tertiary economies -- Reaction times and waiting until it is too late -- Community and citizen responses -- Part IV. Enhancing the local "product" -- Preparing and selling the product -- Physical requisites for economic development -- Matching communities to optimal business development: the "right kinds" of jobs -- Institutional growth and economic development -- Building amenities to drive growth -- Rural communities and small town economic development -- Part V. The process: initiating and sustaining local economic growth -- Vision, planning, and selling the plan -- The timing of the process -- Team-building, budgeting, and professionalism -- Creating strategic alliances for growth -- Image, awareness, and selling communities to employers -- Managing internal expectations -- Managing inter-jurisdictional relationships -- Business incubation and entrepreneurialism as an economic growth generator and state development programs -- Part VI. Sinclair Lewis redux: it can happen here -- Preparing communities for economic development -- Conclusions and actions/recommendations.
Summary:
This book presents a fully comprehensive look at what all communities - large and small, urban and rural - can do to grow and sustain their local economic bases. It examines the causes of economic decline for localities as well as the economic "product" being marketed to employers, the promise of growth, and the means of sustaining economic growth over time. Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of communities and hundreds of leaders around the United States, Understanding community economic growth and decline outlines the various strategies that have or have not worked to enable or support a general local economic recovery. Exploring many facets of growth and re-growth following periods of economic decline, and offering practical, real-life tactics that have been successfully employed in local and regional economies across the US, this book is required reading for community planners and administrators, those currently working in public administration, and students studying regional planning or economic development.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.