Brookings' Bruce Katz: U.S. 21st Century Economy Powered by Exports, Energy & Innovation

The Global Cities Initiative is a five-year project of national and international forums by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase to help U.S. metropolitan areas reorient their economies toward greater engagement in world markets. The Planning Report presents the following excerpt of a talk given by Bruce Katz, president and founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program, at Rice University in Houston on May 15.

Despite continuing recession and fears of decline, Katz notes the potential the U.S. maintains to be a key global innovator, manufacturer, and exporter. Fulfilling this destiny, he explains, relies on understanding and adopting of a new growth model that harnesses the power of cities as job creators and global connectors. Katz’s advice to Houston about how to achieve this new growth model rings true for cities everywhere: promote education, develop distinctive export strategies, and cultivate green technology.