As Two Ships: American State & Local Economic Development

President Trump’s challenge compels us to confront the Forgotten People problem swept under the rug by economic developers current paradigms: innovation, knowledge-based economics, university-led economic development, and “gazelle” clusters and occupations. The January article redefines Forgotten People, presents an alternative way to “do” economic development at the state and local level and offers four thought-provoking programs that involve nothing less than a new approach to economic and community development–a community-based, community rebuilding, Back to the New Deal, service sector-focused skills-development employment.

City versus suburbs used to be a very big issue in economic development. It still is! So let’s take a stroll down economic development’s “memory lane”–to the days of 1950’s CBD collapse and resurrect its then- potential savior, the “father of suburban malls”, Victor Gruen. Gruen tried to save the CBD and revitalize the central city–but that has been fogged over by time. What can we learn from Gruen? Why did he fail? What lessons can we glean from these very important years when suburbs became suburbs and central cities assumed their present status in our metro areas?

In this review, I question whether community development in deeply depressed neighborhoods involves a dynamic that further complicates success of its initiatives. That dynamic is race. More often than not, community development initiatives occur in predominately African-American low-income neighborhoods. In this article I raise the issue as to whether the residents of these neighborhoods prefer assimilation over their current neighborhood–a place that houses the “community”. What if a sizeable percentage of residents do not want to assimilate, or define their personal assimilation in such ways that render assimilation difficult. Do recent community mobilizing movements potentially affect the success of current and future community development initiatives by encouraging place-based solutions for African-Americans. Assimilation in such a context becomes a cultural cul du sac that threatens to create a perpetual ghetto.