America 2050 Research Seminar Discussion Papers and Summary Healdsburg, California – March 29-31,2009 New Strategies for Regional Economic Development ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!! ! ! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!! ! ! America 2050 Research Seminar - March 29-31,2009Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a nonproft and tax- exempt educational institution founded in 1974 to improve the quality of public debate and decisions in the areas of land policy and land-related taxation. Te Institute’s goals are to integrate theory and practice to better shape land policy and to provide a nonpartisan forum for discussion of the multidisciplinary forces that infuence public policy. Inspired by the work of Henry George as expressed in the book Progress and Poverty (1879), the Lincoln Institute introduces his thinking and ideas into the contemporary land and tax policy debate to advance a more equitable and productive society. lincolninst rpa Edited by Petra Todorovich and Yoav Hagler, with contribu- tions by Laura Poulsen. Graphic design by Benjamin Oldenburg. Copyright2009 by Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Regional Plan Association. All Rights Reserved. Regional Plan Association Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent, not- for-proft regional planning organization that improves the quality of life and the economic competitiveness of the 31-county New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region through research, planning, and advocacy. For more than 80 years, RPA has been shaping transportation systems, protecting open spaces, and promoting better community design for the region’s continued growth. We anticipate the challenges the region will face in the years to come, and we mobilize the region’s civic, business, and government sectors to take action. rpa America 2050 America 2050 is a national initiative to develop a frame- work for America’s future growth and development in face of rapid population growth, demographic change and infra- structure needs in the 21st century. A major focus of Ameri- ca 2050 is the emergence of megaregions – large networks of metropolitan areas, where most of the projected population growth by mid-century will take place – and how to orga- nize governance, infrastructure investments and land use planning at this new urban scale. America2050 America 2050 Research Seminar - March 29-31,2009Contents Introduction:
Identifying Underperforming Regions 5 Yoav Hagler Associate Planner, America 2050 Regional Plan Association Toward A National Reinvestment Strategy for Underperforming Regions 13 Robert D. Yaro President, Regional Plan Association Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania Spatial Strategies for U.S. Economic Development 20 L. Nicolas Ronderos Director, Urban Development Programs Regional Plan Association Summary of Proceedings 2 8Participants 35 5 Introduction:
Identifying Underperforming Regions 5 Identifying Underperforming Regions 7 Age, Education, and Employment Characteristics of Underperforming Counties 9 Identifying Underperforming Cities and Metropolitan Areas 9 The Criteria 11 Underperforming Cities 13 Toward A National Reinvestment Strategy for Underperforming Regions 13 Overview:
14 The Politics of Economic Transformation 14 The American Tradition of Regional Economic Development 15 Toward a National Reinvestment Strategy for Underperforming Regions: European Precedents 16 Envisioning a U.S. Regional Development Fund 16 Rural Regional Development 18 Revitalizing Former Industrial Regions 19 Conclusion 20 Spatial Strategies for U.S. Economic Development 20 Introduction 20 Current U.S. Economic Development Issues and Policies 21 EDA’s Investment Programs: A Case Study 22 A Spatial Specialization Perspective on Economic Development 24 Spatial Assessment of U.S. Economic Development: Lessons for the 21st Century 26 Appendix 28 Summary of Proceedings 28 Introduction 28 Identifying Underperforming Regions 29 Yaro and Ronderos Paper Presentations 30 Moving from Economic development to Economic Health 30 Reconnecting Post Industrial Cities to the Global Economy 31 Navigating the Political Landscape 32 National Strategies for Large Scale Landscape Conservations 33 Evolving Expectations for the Great American Middle 33 Wrap Up 35 Participants TOC for PDF Navigation America 2050 Research Seminar - March 29-31,2009America 2050 Research Seminar - March 29-31,2009Introduction:
Identifying Underperforming Regions Yoav Hagler Associate Planner, America 2050 Regional Plan Association In an efort to develop a balanced and sustainable growth strategy for the United States, Regional Plan Association and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, through their joint venture, America 2050, brought together two dozen schol- ars and economic development practitioners in March 2009 to explore new economic development strategies for the nation’s underperforming regions. Tis research seminar, entitled “New Strategies for Regional Economic Devel- opment,” gathered people with a range of expertise and diversity of backgrounds, including those from declining, post-industrial regions, rural and frontier communities, and experts on state and federal economic development policy to address strategies for declining and bypassed regions within the nation’s emerging megaregions and the vast “white spaces” in between. Te “white spaces” refers to the more than 75 percent of the land area and 25 percent of the population of the coun- try not included in one of the 11 emerging megaregions. America 2050 began several years ago, organized around the idea that these 11 megaregions, home to three-quarters of the nation’s population, are the economic engines of the nation and the new competitive units in the global economy. Tese regions will also be home to the majority of the growth in both population and jobs in the next half cen- tury. As such, special attention to the specifc infrastructure needs of these megaregions, such as high-speed rail systems, is crucial to a nation’s long term interests. However, as the initiative shifs its focus to the development of a national growth strategy, it must address not only the 11 megare- gions but also the other 75 percent of the land area and 25 percent of the nation’s population if the process is to result in a strategy that is truly national. Te inspiration to address these “white spaces” in the context of an economic development strategy comes from the territorial cohesion program in the European Union, which promotes balanced economic development. Tis program has identifed “economic hot spots”, rural regions, and declining regions and has explored how these regions work together within the context of the EU. In contrast, the economic development strategies that have been pursued in this country have emphasized productivity over cohesion. As a result, vast areas of the nation have been lef behind, while the nation’s economic productivity is concentrated in a declining number of “hot” metropolitan regions. Te primary goals of the March 2009 seminar were to explore ways in which this country could pursue a balanced economic development and growth strategy and to articu- late a coherent conception of this balanced approach. Tis includes a synthesis of diferent strategies, including eco- nomic development, landscape conservation, smart growth, and urban revitalization. Identifying Underperforming Regions To ground this conversation in real-world geography and make it less theoretical, RPA sought to identify regions of the country that have underperformed national economic and population growth trends. Te resulting mapping exercise described in this chapter builds on America 2050’s previous studies of spatial development in United States. Most of the 11 U.S. m