By Jeffrey L Garceau
Moving the nation’s economy forward is a joint effort of governments and business at all levels. Municipal efforts on the whole do not get enough national attention. By building strong communities and cities, we make our country stronger. Brookings Institution has designed a new map of the United States, highlighting 28 metropolitan areas and their plans and efforts to invest in economic development and practice innovative policy solutions.
The interactive map includes blog posts highlighting efforts, as well as detailed development plans created by cities in conjunction with Brookings and others. There are posts and plans as recent as this winter and fall of 2015, going back as far as spring of 2011. Looking at the breadth of plans offered over a four year period, one can look at how successful these cities have been through different stages of implementation. Interestingly, the earliest plan was developed by and for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area; Minnesota has been one of the model states for recovery coming out of the Great Recession.
Take a look at the information Brookings provides, and then visit MuniNet Guide’s own Cities & States and Employment Data pages. We provide current and relevant information by which to analyze the effectiveness of the plans and efforts these cities have undertaken.