Spring 2008

News & Views

The Newsletter of the Economic Development Division

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In This Issue:
Editor's Notes
From the Chair
Calendar of Events
List of New Members
EDD Sessions at the National conference

Lead Stories:

Tourism as Economic Development
by Rhonda Phillips, AICP
Arizona State University

Tourism has long been recognized as a community and economic development strategy to bring in revenues. As one of the fastest growing industries in the world, many communities are seeking ways to tap into this vast and productive industry to capture local community and economic development benefits. As demonstrated, community participation is a crucial factor for the long term viability of tourism. Planning provides the opportunity to envision what a community wants and how to get there. Without careful planning, there is no direction to achieve desirable outcomes — the community will have to accept whatever comes its way.

The Evolution of Economic Development Planning
by Robert M. Lewis, AICP
Principal, Development Strategies

Planning is a relatively new concept in economic development. While business attraction and industrial park construction have long been staples of the discipline, it is relatively recently that emphasis has shifted toward planning to support more comprehensive action. Much of what passes for economic development planning is still often more reactive than proactive. Reactive planning typically results from a sudden announcement of a plant closing or the shock of a natural disaster. But proactive planning better prepares communities for those times when reaction is necessary. Economic development has learned much from urban planners over the last few decades, including the patience required to reach consensus through planning. Planning, in turn, gives greater purpose to economic developers and opens many valuable lines of communication and financing.

Leveling the Playing Field: Independent Retailers Co-existing with Formula Businesses in Downtown Commercial Districts
by Kelly Kinahan
Virginia Commonwealth University

The suburban growth that dominated the American landscape during the post World War II era through the recent past drained the life out of traditional commercial corridors across the nation. The proliferation of road networks, availability of inexpensive land, and cheap gas created the perfect storm, allowing large numbers of people to live in one place and work in another. In an effort to being reversing this trend, the National Trust for Historic Preservation created the National Main Street Center in 1980 with the mission of revitalizing the downtown areas of small towns across the country by restoring economic vitality to neighborhood business districts. As revitalization efforts have enlivened many once defunct commercial districts, and as outlying suburban markets have become saturated, national chain retailers are taking advantage of this resurgence along Main Street by locating their stores in traditional downtown settings.