"Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America's Older Industrial Areas" investigated and reported on emerging economic development strategies for weak market cities such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Oakland, St. Louis, and Baltimore as they seek to find their place in the changing global economy. Building on prior work by The Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, Smart Growth America, the National Housing Institute, and PolicyLink, the urban specialists at this 2007 Assembly asserted that redevelopment will require changing business and civic cultures so they are more entrepreneurial, inclusive, innovative, and capable of leveraging investment. The group’s report recommends new approaches to improving education, building workforces, expanding businesses, and introduces key reforms in government economic development programs.

Read the report here.