System of Urban and Regional Economic Development Planning in the U.S

The main purpose of the research is to examine the American experience of economic development planning at various levels of government and consider what policies and approaches may be applicable for Russia which has a vastly different federal framework. This paper examines two primary questions: (1) What is the framework for the federal role in U.S. economic development planning and its influence on planning at other levels of government? (2) Do regional and local levels of government embed economic development policy into traditional land use planning to have a more integrated approach to urban regeneration? These two questions explore different levels of policy alignment in the US context as compared to Russia. The first question explores the level of vertical alignment or integration of federal-state-local economic development policy. The second question explores the degree of horizontal alignment or integration of economic development strategy into transition land use or spatial planning. In addition to a general assessment of the US context, a specific analysis is done on three case-studies: Washington, DC; Memphis, TN; and Miami, FL. The research is based on interviews with representatives of US federal departments, regional organizations, state, county and local jurisdictions. The paper identifies that the US has a decentralized approach to economic development planning, with weak vertical policy alignment between different levels of government, but growing horizontal alignment that leads to more sustainable, complex planning.