Saturday, August 07, 2004
Here's another article that suggests that the Thing Theory of economic development -- the notion that you build economic development with big investments in convention centers, stadiums, casinos -- doesn't work.
The folks in Arlington, TX are considering a new stadium for the Cowboys, but they can't come up with a reason why their existing investment in the Rangers stadium made any economic sense. When asked what economic benefit the city received from the Rangers stadium, the mayor responded, "I can't really tell you." At least he's honest.
For more on why Big Things don't create economic prosperity, see this report from some researchers at Penn State. Here they conclude that building a Big Thing -- in this case a fiber optic telecommunicatiuons infrastructure -- was not enough to trigger an IT cluster in Humboldt County, CA.
As the lead writer concludes, "People want a magic bullet, but creating a knowledge economy involves more than infrastructure. There has to be coordination among public policy, cultural attitudes and economic initiatives or efforts are fragmented."
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
More evidence on the Thing Theory
