Brewed Fresh Daily

The field of regional development blossomed in the last decade, as researchers and practitioners increasingly asserted that the region, rather than the nation state, was the most effective geographic unit for supporting excellence and innovation among entrepreneurs. However, in spite of the obvious dynamism and dramatic shifts that characterize the economy of the 21st century, much of the discussion of regionalism continued to be mired in concepts and language of the industrial age. Many regions started their renewal initiatives with large convenings of area power brokers, who created a common vision of the future of the region and then developed a plan intended to move the region toward that vision. Unfortunately, this type of linear, rational process is ill suited to creating an entrepreneurial environment, which is marked by uncertainty. In the same way, such a static model has had little success in solving the massive problems of poverty and environmental degradation that continue to plague inner cities and rural communities. Transformation, not just tinkering, is in order.