ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses why cities, regions and communities need to take active measures to plan for their future economy. It reviews the arguments that both support and oppose efforts to develop locally or regionally. The chapter examines the range of strategies potentially available to encourage growth locally and that the globalization of the economy has generated new opportunities for many communities, and that this should provide a further spur for action. Regional development policies were abandoned by the Conservative Governments of the late 1970s which enacted a more market-oriented philosophy that drew upon neoclassical economics. Contemporary thinking about how and why regional economies grow has evolved and informed some of these developments in the practice of local or regional development. Learning from others is one of the ways communities can empower themselves and their economic development efforts. Economic development efforts need to be sustained in order to adapt to changing conditions and in order to tap into emerging opportunities.
