Regeneration strategies Sunday, August 13, 2006 EDPros in the UK have a lot more experience with the strategy of "regeneration": recasting older industrial areaas into new development anchors. In the U.S. we have focused primarily on the threshold issue of land development: brownfield remediation. Regeneration strategies involve more. They focus on the competitive advantages of inner city locations, as well as the physical development issues involved in reusing old buildings. This week, a number of articles caught my eye. An article in the Boston Globe explores EDPros are reusing old buildings. Read more. In Rochester, a tire recycling company is starting up in an old warehouse. Read more. And in Dayton, the City Commission is helping to finance a new use for an old GM facility. Read more. The new company will manufacture composite products. The most ambitious regeneration strategies are even broader and more "holistic". Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, in my own backyard, represents an ambitious plan to regenerate an older industrial area. Read more. It's the type of regeneration strategy that we need to adapt and use more broadly. If you would like to learn more about regeneration strategies in the U.K. start here. Also, a few years ago, Storm Cunningham published an interesting book on this issue, called The Restoration Economy. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: 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.

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