Local Culture, Politics, and Economic Development

American state and local economic development (ED) has been around since Day One (1789) of the American Republic. My recently-published “History of American State and Local Economic Development, 1789-1990: As Two Ships Pass in the Night” (As Two Ships) presents our historical evolution from George Washington to 1990—all 752 pages of it.
Future issues of the Journal will present observations drawn from As Two Ships along with additional insight and applied to current affairs. These observations will provide a base to rethink one’s ideas regarding the history–and purpose–of American state and local economic development. They can open you to new ways on how to approach your job, research, and your profession.

This issue will discuss the core fundamentals of my history and also will introduce what the “Chapter One Model” and the two approaches, Community Development and Mainstream ED–our Two Ships–that bisect our profession.

BY RICHARD COWDEN
The stunning election of Donald Trump as president throws the future of urban policy into doubt. During the campaign he promised to bring new jobs and improved infrastructure to the inner cities, but so far he has furnished no details. Some of the strategies carried out by cities and states in the past may offer the incoming administration some guidance.

I’ve been reading stuff lately about the goings on in New York City. The new De Blasio administration is proclaimed by many to be the wave of the future? For me it’s too early to tell. Only fair to give the poor soul at least a full year before we see what his new approach shakes down to be. […]