Perspective
6 Rules for Better, More Inclusive Economic Development in Cities
Urban leaders need to kick the incentive habit and take a more inclusive approach to growing local economies.
Until recently, there was a growing understanding among city-builders and economic developers that handing over taxpayer-funded incentives to large corporations is wasteful and ineffective. That is, until Amazon’s HQ2 search threw a wrench in that, bringing real pressure from business and political leaders to compete for the big prize.
In more than three decades, I have never seen a setback for economic development like HQ2. I have heard from dozens of professionals in the field who feel the HQ2 debacle knocked it badly off course.