anoverview - brookings · anoverview. increasing global competition, economic restructuring at...

An Overview

Increasing global competition, economicrestructuring at home, rapid populationgrowth, and other forces are rewriting the

rules for how we producejobs, build wealth, and con-serve our natural resources.

New federal policies andapproaches are imperativeif our nation is to effectivelyadapt to this new reality andenable American firms,

workers, and families to thrive.In response, the Metropolitan Policy

Program at Brookings is developing theBlueprint for American Prosperity in advanceof the 2008 vote.

BLUEPRINT FOR AMERICAN PROSPERITY 1

The 2008presidential

election comes at a remarkable juncture.

Not only will no incumbent president or vice president be

running for the presidency—paving the way for a wide

open contest of ideas—but the vote will occur amid an environment of

dynamic, sometimes unsettling, forces now transforming the world in

which Americans live.

Metropolitan areas constitute the engines of

American proseperity and are the building blocks

of the 21st century economy.

All 50 states contain metropolitan areas

Designed to help federal leaders and theirstate and local partners adapt to rapidchange, the Blueprint envisions a multi-yearseries of partnerships, pub-lic events, and publicationspremised on one abidingconviction: The very assetsneeded to prosper today arerooted in our metropolitanareas—the nation’s intercon-nected web of cities, sub-urbs, and counties nowhome to more than eight in10 Americans and their jobs.

From New York and Des Moines to LosAngeles and Charleston, metropolitan areaslarge and small constitute the engines ofAmerican prosperity and are the buildingblocks of the 21st century economy.

Ultimately, we hope the Blueprint sparks arich national debate about America’s future.

2 BROOKINGS METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM

The ability of our nation to grow and prosper and meet

the social and environmental challenges of our time

depends heavily on the health and vitality of our

metropolitan areas.

In keeping with that starting point, the ini-tiative will advance four core propositions:

FIRST: Dynamic global and domesticforces pose urgent challenges thatare testing American prosperity

å The U.S. economic powerhouse facesexpanded global competition and con-tinued economic restructuring here athome. Rapid technology advancement,economic liberalization throughout theworld, and skill advancement in devel-oping countries mean more nationaleconomies and regional economies areemerging to compete for investmentand production. Meanwhile, the U.S.continues to shed manufacturing jobs,especially from major manufacturingcenters like Flint, MI, Canton, OH, andRochester, NY, to name a few


THE STAKESARE HIGHBrookings’ Blueprint begins from a point largely miss-

ing from presidential and public debate: The ability of our nation to

grow and prosper and meet the social and environmental challenges

of our time depends heavily on the health and vitality of our metro-

politan areas.

SECOND: To achieve true prosperity,our nation must leverage the keyassets—innovation, infrastructure,human capital, and quality places—principally concentrated in metropol-itan areas

Prosperity—true prosperity—is based onachieving three types of growth:

å Productive growth boosts innovationand entrepreneurship, generates qualityjobs and rising incomes, and helps theU.S. maintain its economic leadership

å Inclusive growth expands educationaland employment opportunities, reducespoverty, and fosters a strong anddiverse middle class

å And sustainable growth strengthensexisting cities and communities, con-serves fiscal and natural resources, andadvances U.S. efforts to address climatechange and achieve energy independ-ence

While many factors contribute to suchgrowth, the Blueprint contends that innova-tion, human capital, infrastructure, and qual-ity places are crucial ingredients forprosperity.

å Innovation—or the ability to conceiveand develop new products, new serv-ices, and new business models—is cru-cial to sustaining national economicadvantage, generating and retaininghigh-quality jobs, and responding to thechallenges and opportunities presentedby climate change

å Human capital, both educated andskilled labor, drives innovation but isalso a prerequisite for income growth,upward mobility, and access to oppor-tunity

å Infrastructure, ranging from roads,transit, and ports to telecommunica-tions networks, can determine how effi-ciently and rapidly to move and connect

å Labor market changes have widenedincome inequalities and consignedmany workers to jobs that pay wagesnot sufficient to make ends meet.Increasingly, highly-educated workersand those who possess certain non-routine skills have reaped wage gainswhile others have experienced stagnat-ing incomes. Further, wealth-buildingopportunities are more challenging forimmigrants and African Americans,which is critical as blacks and Latinoswill make up 40 percent of our futureworkforce by 2050

å Global and domestic growth and con-sumption are exacerbating pressureson natural resources, leading to envi-ronmental stress and excessivedependency on costly and unsustain-able sources of energy. Increasing gasprices associated with rising worlddemand for oil and the simultaneousconcern over rising carbon dioxideemissions threaten both continued eco-nomic growth and ecosystems.Furthermore, the pressures on our envi-ronment will only worsen as the U.S. isprojected to add another 120 millionpeople by 2050, a level only to beexceeded by China and India



Local leaders are innovating regionally In pursuit of prosperity

ISSUE

Productive

Growth

Inclusive

Growth

Sustainable

Growth

INITIATIVE

CONNECT

Wisconsin

Regional

Training

Partnership

Employer-

Assisted

Housing

(Metropolitan

Planning

Council)

Prosperity

Campaign

Metro

FasTracks

GEOGRAPHIC

SCOPE

San Diego

Region

Milwaukee

Region

Chicago

Region

South Florida

(Miami-Dade

County)

Portland

Region

Denver

Region

DESCRIPTION

Since 1985, CONNECT has helped to launch

roughly 1,300 startups in high-tech and biotech

by linking entrepreneurs to money, markets, new

technology, management, partners, and other

resources

For years, WRTP has helped to modernize the

plants and workplace practices of regional compa-

nies and update the skills of the region’s workers

by focusing on the requirements for more

advanced manufacturing.

To help workers afford homes closer to their jobs,

MPC and its partners help regional employers

offer homeownership education and provide down

payment, rent, or savings assistance. Since 2000,

60 employers have provided homeownership

counseling for 2,100 employees, resulting in 1,200

successful buyers

To boost EITC participation, 10 metro-wide

“Prosperity Centers” offer free tax filing and con-

nections to other financial services. Launched in

2002, the campaign has increased the number of

Miami-area volunteer-prepared EITC returns by

almost 40 percent.

A directly-elected multi-purpose regional govern-

ment operating since 1979, Metro has the author-

ity to coordinate land use across several local

jurisdictions on issues of housing, transportation,

infrastructure, and environmental services.

Metro’s current focuses include integrating hous-

ing choices and affordability into policymaking

and funding allocations, better evaluating land

use impacts of transportation investments, and

safeguarding regionally significant natural areas

Thirty-two metro mayors support this initiative to

create a regional system of new rail and bus rapid

transit with transit-oriented development to solve

the region’s problems with traffic congestion,

expanding highways, sprawl, and smog

goods, people, and information withinand across markets and can also helpus improve air quality, conserve landand natural resources, and reduce ourconsumption of gas and electricity

å Quality places—vibrant downtowns,attractive town centers, historic oldersuburbs—further enhance the otherdrivers by exhibiting the density, diver-sity, and distinctiveness that workersand firms value more than ever intoday’s knowledge economy

And here is the crux: These key influ-ences on the quality of American prosperityare primarily located in metropolitan areas.These collections of cities, suburbs, andcounties are bound by strong commutingties and by definition are America’s eco-nomic centers.

The United States boasts 363 metroareas. These major economic centers arelocated in every state, from as few as one in the state of Hawaii to as many as 24 in Texas.

Metros are not part of the national econ-omy. They are the economy.

The 100 largest metropolitan areas alonerepresent just 12 percent of the nation’s landarea and 65 percent of its population butaccount for 74 percent of the nation’s collegegraduates; 77 percent of all good-paying“knowledge” jobs; 78 percent of all patentactivity; 79 percent of the nation’s air cargo;and 96 percent of its venture capital funding.

Metro areas not only concentrate theseassets, but market forces and intentionalefforts by state and local leaders alsostrengthen these assets so their sum isgreater than their parts, enhancing produc-tivity.

Overall, thanks to their cumulative assets,the largest 100 metro areas alone generate amassive 76 percent of the nation’s grossdomestic product, and 42 of America’s met-ros—if treated as nations—would rank amongthe world’s largest 100 economies.

The bottom line: America is a metropol-itan nation.



What about rural America?

The common perception is that the interests of cities and suburbs and the needs ofrural areas conflict with one other. That’s not true, though. Rural areas exist in aprofitable interdependence with metropolitan America. Here are three ways:

å First, much of rural America lies within metropolitan America. In fact, more thanhalf (51 percent) of all U.S. rural residents live in suburban or exurban countieslocated within metropolitan areas. What is more, agriculture remains an importantpart of some metropolitan economies, including those of Lancaster, PA (94th byemployment) and Fresno, CA (64th)

å Second, globally competitive firms in large metro areas depend on operations insmall metropolitan or rural areas. Large financial services firms, for instance, haveopened up back-office operations in small metros and rural areas due to the avail-ability of lower-cost labor and office space there. Sioux Falls, SD (165th by employ-ment) is a major back-office center for Citicorp (headquartered in New York), whileBismarck, ND (280th by employment) serves a similar function for Aetna (headquar-tered in Hartford)

å Third, even rural places outside metropolitan areas are linked intimately to met-ros by agriculture and natural resources. Rural areas provide the bulk of thenation’s food supply, the majority of which is consumed in urban areas, or shippedto the rest of the world via ports in the major metro areas. At the same time, urbanfarmers’ markets and niche grocers have become major new customers and con-duits for rural growers’ sales of organic foods and boutique agricultural products.For that matter, urban travelers drive key hospitality and tourism sectors in high-amenity rural and small metro areas

AMERICA is a metropolitan nation.

THIRD: Local and regional leadersare doing their best to innovate, butthe federal government is failing tokeep pace with new realities andoften inhibits metropolitan potential

For all of their collective might, too few ofAmerica’s metropolitan areas are realizingtheir full potential as they strain to respondto change.

Nevertheless, though they are increas-ingly ill-served by a federal government outof touch with global and metropolitan reali-ties, city and suburban leaders in large andsmall metro areas are managing to inventnew ways to advance the health of theirregions and the nation.

Metros simply can’t go it alone as theylabor under myriad statutory, constitutional,and jurisdictional limitations, hamperingtruly bold innovation.

Consequently, the Blueprint is probing atleast three major shortcomings in currentfederal policy and practice as it affects met-ropolitan areas. Far too often, Washington:

å Ignores the role and realities of met-ropolitan America. Federal policy andprograms often seem uninformed ofhow America’s economy is geographi-cally organized. The U.S. is less anational economy than the sum of itsunique and varied metropolitaneconomies, dependent upon the opti-mal synergies between firms, workers,capital, and infrastructure. But Federaleconomic policy ignores the critical roleof metropolitan clusters in fosteringproductive growth, preferring to allo-cate research, job training, economicdevelopment and a slew of otherresources without any regard to howthese tools get gathered and strength-ened at the ground level. And Federalhousing policy continues to shoveaffordable housing into inner cities,even though more poor people live insuburbs and jobs have decentralized

å Fails to comport itself as an account-able, strategic partner. More substan-tively, Washington has failed in keyareas to fulfill its appropriate role inour federalist system of national, state,and local government. Most glaringly,in areas where the scale or nature ofthe problem requires national leader-ship—such as boosting the wages oflower-income workers, building a state-of-the-art transportation network, orresponding to climate change—recentfederal actions have been tepid, non-existent, or even counter-productive


å Does not organize for success. Bycompartmentalizing and fragmentingpolicies and programs, and starvingitself and its partners of needed infor-mation, the federal government dis-courages smart problem solving acrossmetropolitan jurisdictions, and frus-trates regional adaptation and innova-tion. It complicates matters enormouslyfor state and local governments and theprivate sector to have to interact withscads of federal departments and agen-cies across a spectrum of issues.Federal policy on innovation and growthis spread across nine separate cabinetdepartments, five independent agen-cies, and 180 distinct programs, ensur-ing that the whole is vastly less than thesum of the parts. Additionally,

Washington nickels and dimes thebudgets of core statistical agenciessuch as the Census Bureau and theBureau of Economic Analysis that pro-vide the data to determine what works

In sum, the Blueprint will argue that onkey programmatic, structural, regulatory,and budgetary counts, federal agencies andCongress have failed to devise a truly trans-formative federal-metro federalism that atonce empowers state and local leaders torespond to the changes buffeting U.S. eco-nomic centers and ensures those responsesare smart, effective, always improving, andefficient.


Major metro areas aggregate fundamental drivers of prosperity, and generate 75 percent of U.S. GDP

Percentage of national activity in 100 largest metro areas, various indicators, 2005


FINALLY: We need a new federal partnership with state, local, and

private-sector leaders—a Blueprint for American Prosperity—to

strengthen metropolitan economies, build a strong and diverse middle

class, and grow in environmentally sustainable ways

The Blueprint for American Prosperity willpropose a series of federal policy reformprinciples and ideas to promote more pro-ductive, inclusive, and sustainable growth inmajor metropolitan areas. It will argue, forexample, that federal policy should:

å Enable metropolitan areas to exploittheir strengths and adapt to changingrealities. For example, instead oflargely ignoring it, federal economicdevelopment policy should acknowl-edge the metropolitan locus ofAmerican productivity growth by sup-

porting regional industryclusters around the country.Similarly, the federal gov-ernment should do more tofacilitate investments inworkforce housing in thegrowing suburban job cen-ters where the needs aremost pressing, and wherelow-income families wouldenjoy greater opportunity

Instead of largely ignoring it, federal economic

development policy should acknowledge the

metropolitan locus of American productivity growth

by supporting regional industry clusters

around the country.

å Lead on national priorities anddemand results from itself and itspartners. In other areas, the federalgovernment must lead, both through itsown direct initiative, orby insisting onimproved performanceoutcomes across itsown programs andthose in which it collab-orates. The federalgovernment, togetherwith states, for example, should assumeresponsibility on national prioritiessuch as providing strengthening worksupports like the Earned Income TaxCredit, setting a framework for energyinnovation and addressing climatechange, and investing in key transporta-tion corridors and gateways to keep theeconomy moving

å Promote integrated, informed, andinnovative problem solving. Finally, thefederal government must better organ-ize itself to deliver programs effectivelyand efficiently. The nation needs a synergistic, purpose-driven NationalInnovation Foundation to boost keyfields such as precision manufacturing,information technology, engineering,and clean energy. Other Blueprintefforts will explore how the federal gov-ernment might better integrate its disconnected programs dealing withsuch obviously intertwined issues astransportation, housing, education, andenergy. Cutting across it all will be thecontention that America needs a gov-ernment that actively develops andmanages knowledge to inform decision-making, evaluate outcomes, harnessand share innovation, and adapt man-agement

The Blueprint initiative will focus on thethings that matter most—innovation, oppor-tunity, and sustainability—while outlining theprinciples of a new metro-focused, more rig-

orous and effective federalism to empowerlocal and state leaders and their private-sector partners to experiment. The Blueprintwill not argue simply for redirecting moremoney to metro areas, but will emphasizehow existing monies could be used moreeffectively. To spur them on, the project willalso advance specific, discrete recommenda-tions in key federal policy areas—researchand development, income and asset building,education, transportation, energy—that willexemplify how the new federal-metro com-pact might work.

Though our nation faces new andunprecedented challenges, we begin from aposition of great strength. Much of thatstrength vests in our nation’s major metro-politan areas, which contain the bulk of ourmost important assets driving prosperity. Webelieve that if the federal government per-forms as a modernized and equal partner,federal, state and local leaders will be betterequipped to leverage these assets and beorganized for success. Together, our leaderswill be poised to build a prosperousAmerica—with an economy that is produc-tive, a society that is inclusive, and an envi-ronment that is sustainable.


The Blueprint will not argue simply for redirecting

more money to metro areas, but will emphasize how

existing monies could be used more effectively.


ACHIEVING A BLUEPRINT FORAMERICAN PROSPERITY

The Blueprint for American Prosperity

aims to help better align federal, state,

and local leaders so they can together

leverage the assets in our communities

and help create a prosperous nation.

The Brookings Institution MetropolitanPolicy Program has spent its first tenyears generating high quality

research and catalyzing policy reforms andnew coalitions for change, primarily inselect states and metropolitan areas aroundthe country.

å Encourage our nation’s leaders toincreasingly seek progress on all threedimensions of prosperity we identify:productive growth that yields qualityjobs and income gains, inclusive growththat creates a strong and diverse mid-dle class, and sustainable growth that isfiscally and environmentally responsi-ble and brings us closer to energy inde-pendence

å See to it that local and state leaders arebetter empowered to achieve prosper-ity by the adoption of new or reformedfederal policies that strengthen crucialinfluences on metropolitan prosperity—innovation, human capital, infrastruc-ture, and quality places

å Create and empower a network of localleaders to help champion reform andserve as effective stewards of regionalaction and results

To ensure that the Blueprint achievesthese impacts, Brookings is embarking on anambitious course of outreach, organizing,forums, research, and writing.


With this signature initiative, we think it istime for the experiences of local andregional leaders to inform the decisions offederal leaders, who are eager to find freshsolutions and innovations that work.

Keep in mind, though, that the Blueprint isdeveloping an agenda that is federalistrather than federal and truly engages statesand metropolitan areas as worthy, necessarypartners in the effort to promote economicgrowth and prosperity.

Hence, the Blueprint for AmericanProsperity aims to help better align federal,state and local leaders so they can togetherleverage the assets in our communities andhelp create a prosperous nation.

To that end, the Blueprint initiative seeksto accomplish the following:

å Make clear to national leaders, opinion-makers, and the general public that weare a metropolitan nation and thatmetro areas form the foundation of thenation’s economy

BENEFITING FROM A NETWORKOF INNOVATORS

The Blueprint is being supported and informed by a network of leaders who strive everyday to create the kind of healthy and vibrant communities that are the foundation ofthe U.S. economy.

We believe that these leaders and theirmetro areas are at the cutting edge of policyinnovation in the United States and, throughtheir local action, are guiding the waytowards systemic and structural policyreform at the national level.

Two core groups of leaders have shaped,and are shaping, the Blueprint to date—theMetropolitan Leadership Council and ourMetropolitan Partners. As the Blueprint islaunched, we will continue to seek additional

advisors to this effort. We believe strongly thatnational policy is most suc-cessful when it builds fromthe knowledge and expert-ise of local and regionalleaders.


We believe strongly that national policy is most

successful when it builds from the knowledge and

expertise of local and regional leaders.

METROPOLITAN LEADERSHIPCOUNCIL

The Blueprint is principally financed bythe Metropolitan Leadership Council,a network of business and philan-

thropic leaders that reflect the best ideas incorporate and civic America gleaned fromdecades of experience. In building the coun-cil, we are striving to reflect the political,geographic, and racial and ethnic diversityof the nation and include representativesfrom a cross section of economic sectors.More significantly, we are seeking theengagement of individuals and institutionsthat can be true intellectual partners andchampions for meaningful policy reform.While many of these leaders act globally,they retain a commitment to the vitality oftheir local and regional communities, a rareblend that makes their civic engagementeven more valuable. We are deeply gratefulfor the exceptional energy and guidance ofthis Leadership Council.

METROPOLITAN PARTNERS

The Metropolitan Policy Program isforming a group of elected officials,regional business alliances and civic

groups, university presidents, and practi-tioners from metro areas around the coun-try who are serving as active advisors and supporters of the Blueprint. TheseMetropolitan Partners will be individualsand institutions widely recognized as beingchange agents both in their metropolitanareas and nationally. Their role will be toinform the content of the Blueprint, co-hostpublic forums in their home metros, andserve as resources for media and nationaldecisionmakers.


BLUEPRINT PUBLICATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

Over the course of the next few years, Brookings will release a series

of publications to advance the Blueprint and host a series of related

public forums.

THE BLUEPRINT POLICY SERIES (FEBRUARY–NOVEMBER 2008) In addition to setting the broad policy frame-work for a new prosperity agenda, Brookingsis publishing a series of in-depth policy briefsthat argue for specific, achievable reforms inselected areas of federal policy. Topics to beexamined include, among others, innovationinvestment, industry clusters, workforcehousing, transportation, green building,energy research, and wealth building.

BLUEPRINT SPECIAL GEOGRAPHICFOCUSES: GREAT LAKES AND INTERIOR WESTAs part of the Blueprint initiative, Brookingswill also work closely with political, civic, andnonprofit leaders from battleground statesin the Great Lakes region and theIntermountain West to articulate a federalpolicy agenda that responds to the assetsand opportunities facing these two very dif-ferent regions.

BLUEPRINT PUBLIC REGIONALFORUMSBrookings will host public forums throughoutthe country, starting with the official launchof the Blueprint initiative in Washington, D.C.on November 6, 2007. The DC launch will befollowed by additional regional forumsthroughout 2007 and 2008 in metropolitanareas, such as Chicago, Denver, Kansas City,Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix,and Seattle.


SIGNATURE PIECES

MetroNation: How U.S. MetropolitanAreas Drive American Prosperity (November 2007)This paper will officially launch the Blueprintby making the fundamental case that metro-politan areas--including the cities and sub-urbs within them--are the engines of nationalprosperity. Reviewing the challenges andopportunities that globalization and rapidtechnological change pose for the Americaneconomy, this framing paper asserts theneed for modernized federal policies thatexploit the inherent strengths of majormetro areas to ensure productive, inclusive,and sustainable growth.

Unleashing America’s MetropolitanPotential: Toward a New FederalPartnership for Prosperity (February 2008)A companion to “MetroNation,” this policypaper will present a new paradigm for majorreform of the federal system aimed atempowering metropolitan areas to adapt tochange and innovate in order to increase thenation’s prosperity. This integrated analysiswill initially document the uneven perform-ance of the nation’s largest metropolitanareas on key measures of prosperity. It willthen describe the complicating—and oftendetrimental—effects of an outmoded federal-state policy structure that fails to enablecities and metropolitan areas to adapt tochanging economic realities.

ABOUT THE BROOKINGS METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAMCreated in 1996, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program provides decisionmakers with cutting-edge research and policy ideas for improving the health and prosper-ity of cities and metropolitan areas.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONTo get involved or to learn more call us at (202) 797-6139 or visit us at www.blueprintprosperity.org

BROOKINGS1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington D.C. 20036-2188

telephone 202.797.6000

fax 202.797.6004

www.brookings.edu

telephone 202.797.6139

fax 202.797.2965

www.brookings.edu/metro

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