Promoting Economic Development through Regional Cooperation and Planning

May 18-21, 2011

Memphis, Tennessee

The University of Memphis

Conference Theme

Many Americans live in economically distressed communities where unemployment exceeds 9 percent and the poverty rate surpasses 20 percent. In these localities, economic development dominates the local policy agenda. In many cases, economic development policies focus on solutions that do not fit local contexts, whether economic, political, or institutional. Examples include the pursuit of popular "creative city" strategies within regions that lack major research universities, sophisticated arts institutions, locally based media, or firms applying advanced technology. In other regions, the economic development efforts of local governments undermine each other as they engage in unrestrained competition to attract new investment, firms, and jobs through a variety of incentives and subsidies, accelerating what some have called the race to the bottom.

These and other economic challenges prompted the organizers of Planners Network's 2011 national conference to select "Promoting Economic Development through Regional Cooperation and Planning" as the primary conference theme. The conference's plenary sessions will examine how community organizations, businesses, trade unions, advocacy groups, and institutions of higher learning can collaborate with local governments in the creation and implementation of economic development policies designed to expand employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for poor and working class residents without harming the prospects for sustainable regional growth.