Geographical Scale and Economic Development

Book excerpt: This book is an attempt to bridge the academic discipline of economic geography with the professional field of economic development. Through case studies of economic development, it illustrates two fundamental concepts of the sub-discipline of economic geography: scale and spatial connections. It demonstrates some of the ways that economic development policies and plans are linked globally, nationally, regionally, and locally. It ties together several studies of communities and transportation systems in Texas and Mexico carried out from the late 2010’s through 2021. The studies shed light on the need to study economic development at multiple scales and to do so through blended qualitative research methods that include conversations with economic development stakeholders, published data, news content from the business and trade media, and direct observation of the built environment. The book is a set of narratives that combine descriptions of the evolution of commercial transportation systems, economic promotion in selected communities, and corresponding changes in the built environment. It is organized into three sections, each of which corresponds to a different scale at which economic development functions: macro, regional, and local.