What is the role of state government in the competitiveness of communities and regions? Do state policies support connected strategies for innovation built on brainpower and quality place? Has your state recognized the link between patterns of physical growth and prosperity? Understanding impacts of growth trends on the economic and fiscal health of both states and communities is an evolving body of work. Much of this research and analysis points to the need for an “extreme makeover” or at least new priorities for a new direction. Rapidly expanding public infrastructure is outpacing public resources in models of growth that subsidize abandonment.

The Brookings Institute continues to support research that explains the impacts of policies on growth. A March 10, 2004 presentation by the Brookings Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Growth in the Heartland: The Implications for Fiscal and Economic Health , looks at growth trends in Missouri and suggest goals and strategies for the future. Included is comparative data on counties and metro areas that are instructive measures applicable to other states and competitive communities. The presentation addresses the following questions:

·“What are the growth and development trends in the state…?
·What are the consequences of these growth trends?
·Why are some of these trends occurring?
·What are strategies that … states can pursue to help communities grow in high quality ways?”

The following are excerpts from presentation slides:

“Emerging academic evidence shows that:

·The cities and metro areas with highly skilled workers also have high population and income growth
·The cities that provide high density learning environments will excel in creativity and innovation
·The cities and metro areas that have high proportions of skilled, educated workers are able to reinvent themselves and adapt to changing economic needs

Current State Policies in Missouri Facilitate Decentralization:

·Fragmented Governance
·Heavy Local Reliance on the Sales Tax
·History of Road Building
·Weak Land-use Planning

States can become more fiscally and economically healthy by enacting reforms in the following areas:

·Infrastructure – “Coordinate transportation and infrastructure investments to build strong communities and maximize scarce dollars”
·Preservation and Land Use – “Protect the integrity of signature rural spaces and preserve different types of communities by supporting better local planning”
·Reinvestment – “Make reinvestment in older, established communities a top priority”
·Regional Governance – “Promote regional cohesion and collaboration among localities”
·Taxation – “Reform tax and fiscal structures to promote more efficient growth”


Related competitive communities entries include: Do City income sources affect growth policies? , Connecting the Dots and The Why and How-to of Regionalism.