Big Town Little Town,
it all Begins with P(lanning)

Cities and counties of all sizes now have a new tool to plan their future: Building Communities economic development strategic planning.

In his new upcoming book, Building Communities: 25 Strategies to Advance America, author and economic development specialist Brian Cole presents a new, comprehensive, and expeditious approach to economic development strategic planning for communities of all sizes.

From small towns to large metropolitan areas, communities can take advantage of a new economic development strategic planning approach tailored to the size of their community.

While it is generally true that metropolitan areas and suburbs have more economic development opportunities than very small towns, the Building Communities approach takes this generalization and brings it to life for all communities based upon the concept of key success factors. That is, does your home town—whether big or small—possess the development factors needed to implement one or more strategies?

The problem with traditional economic development strategic planning for small communities is that it does not recognize the limitations of rural areas. Many civic leaders in small towns are working to recruit the next growth business/industry without recognizing what key success factors they must have in place in order to be successful.

Key success factors for business recruitment, for example, include available land and buildings, large-scale infrastructure, accessibility to the interstate system, local economic development professionals with tenure and experience, sophistication in the deployment of financial incentives, and many other factors. Compared to their urban counterparts, smaller communities may be better off focusing upon other strategies.

On the flip side, economic development strategic planning for large metropolitan areas can be too broad to have specific application for sub-regions or cities within that broader metropolitan context.

Fortunately, the Building Communities methodology allows for a more focused, strategic evaluation of metropolitan areas based upon sub-regions such as neighborhood associations, urban renew districts, or other locally-recognized planning areas.