After Amazon: Planning for Regional Growth

The dichotomy in economic outcomes around the country won't be solved by one-off competitions like the bidding process to land Amazon's second headquarters.

2 minute read

January 20, 2018, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Detroit

Andrew Jameson / Wikimedia Commons

After the process to site Amazon's second headquarters entered a dramatic new stage this week, the nation is left again to evaluate what the spectacle reveals of economic development strategy in the United States. According to Mark Muro and Amy Liu, "while the fall’s 'Amazon Idol' competition is garnering high ratings, the fact remains that it is a major distraction from the glaring need for the country to systematically think about a much larger development problem—the nation’s gaping regional prosperity divides."

Instead of "Amazon Idol," Muro and Liu propose a recommitment to regional growth. "At present, America possesses no strategy—let alone serious policies—for addressing the uneven allocation of growth across the nation’s 50 states and hundreds of metropolitan areas," according to Muro and Liu, who detail the landscape of economic development around the United States under the current political regime.

Muro and Liu identify a few useful existing precedents, both in theory and in practice, to "hack together some basic outlines of what policymakers, especially the federal government, might do to push back against the nation’s geographical distress."

Here's are two "watchwords" that organize their recommendations, with more details included in the source article: 1) "Make spatially balanced growth a priority" and 2) "Maintain (don’t cut) existing policies that enhance U.S. competitiveness—and support regional development."

[Editor's note: This article is from September 2017, but we share it this week due to its relevance to current events.]

Friday, September 22, 2017 in Brookings

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder