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Technological innovations in artificial intelligence, life sciences, sustainable energy, and other fields will have wide-ranging transformational effects in the U.S., including the concentration of jobs and R&D in (mostly coastal) early-adopter metro hubs. Additional hubs in the Midwest and South are early adopters of AI applications in the production of goods and services. To maximize economic development opportunities associated with AI and other innovations, investing in workforce training and housing production where jobs are located will be critical.

Leaders in the innovation and technology space are stepping up to tackle staggering disparities for BIPOC and low-income communities by increasing the number of regional technology hubs, including current proposals in Congress to implement large-scale federal R&D funding for Midwestern and Southern metro centers. A recent Brookings webinar titled Leveraging Regional Tech Hubs to Advance Racial Equity discussed additional solutions to these disparities such as upscaling BIPOC talent and targeting companies to invest in their location’s talent base. From 2005 to 2017, five metro areas—Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and San Diego—contributed more than 90 percent of the U.S. innovation sector’s growth. ...

Science and technology only grows in importance to the agriculture industry, but too few college graduates have the skills that employers need (Stateline). “We rely on software developers probably as much as Silicon Valley does,” says Eric Haggard, director of human resources for a Georgia-based agricultural equipment manufacturer. From crop-picking robots to precision drones, ag tech has not attracted enough students, who often still equate agriculture with farming. The industry can also feel inaccessible to those who didn’t grow up on a farm or in a rural area. Agricultural professionals in the U.S. are primarily male and roughly 95 percent white. Virginia Tech’s SmartFarm Innovation Network is developing ...

Self-driving shuttles have begun operating in a number of cities across the U.S., including Las Vegas, Detroit, and Austin (Curbed). Florida just passed HB 4043, which will bring a “smart corridor” for autonomous shuttles to Altamonte Springs in the Orlando region (Orlando Business Journal). The shuttles will reduce the need for parking at redevelopment projects in the proposed corridor, thereby increasing densities and encouraging economic growth, according to the bill. The project "will connect existing and proposed urban infill redevelopment of 6,344 multifamily units, 5.9 million square feet of retail, office, and medical office uses, 277 hotel rooms, 550 hospital beds, and the Cranes Roost Park event venue with 1 million ...

Green supply chains can be a way to both tackle climate change and strengthen the middle class, according to Susan Helper. Helper is a professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University, former White House staffer, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and frequent speaker at IEDC events. Because the U.S. economy is largely structured around supply chains, they are an essential part of transitioning to green technologies such as carbon-free electricity, cleaner vehicles, high-speed rail, and energy-efficient heating and cooling. Responding to climate change domestically is likely to create many middle-class jobs, according to Helper. The typical “clean economy” job pays 13 percent more than the ...

Fast and reliable broadband internet is now as critical to economic development as roads and electricity. EDOs are marketing it that way, such as the Utah Office of Economic Development, which maps broadband access across the state. From rural communities to the fastest-growing tech cities, internet infrastructure is taking a front seat in development projects across the nation. Frisco Station in Dallas, Texas, is a mixed-use development that brands itself as the first planned community designed around 5G internet. Cutting-edge internet infrastructure will serve its apartments, hotel, retail, restaurants, and office space, in which it hopes to attract leading tech companies. Other ambitions include making the neighborhood a hub of ...

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – better known as “drones” – are part of a new but rapidly growing industry. Thanks to a supportive technology ecosystem, North Dakota has emerged as leader in this nascent industry, centered around the city of Grand Forks. In addition to a creating a skilled UAS workforce pipeline, Grand Forks also developed the country’s first UAS business and aviation park.

The textile industry was once an integral part of the southeastern U.S. economy, accounting for millions of full-time jobs. However, when offshoring became a feasible way to cut costs, the U.S. textile industry withered. In 1973, the sector employed 2.4 million people, compared to just 385,000 today. North Carolina alone lost 242,000 textile jobs between 1992 and today. The decrease in employment and economic activity resulted in a precipitous drop in state tax revenues. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Carolina went from collecting $7.5 billion in 2000 to less than $3 billion in 2014 (Undark). Now, the industry is again showing signs of life, with more than $2 billion in capital investments in 2015 alone – ...