Identifying potential hubs and activity centers allows regions to foster economic growth and density.
"To be economically competitive, state, regional, and local leaders need to align their infrastructure, economic development, and land-use policies to support and grow concentrations of activity, rather than encourage sprawl," write Tracy Hadden Loh and Joanne Kim.
Economic mapping is a strategy that looks at areas based on a range of key measures to bring together regional planning and strategized economic development. In Cincinnati, for example, Plan Cincinnati is a guide for future planning:
Twelve working groups examined the city’s assets and opportunities around key elements ranging from arts and culture to fiscal impact, governance, and infrastructure. Based on the findings, the city mapped existing and potential activity centers and now prioritizes its resources to support their growth.
Loh and Kim discuss other economic mapping efforts in Portland, Oregon, Northeast Ohio, and Washington, D.C. "Far more cities and metro areas need to better coordinate their strategies for increasing the quality of existing concentrations of activity, and expand investments into places with potential to become such hubs," they say.
FULL STORY: ‘Economic mapping’ can help cities target the best places for density and growth
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association