The history of local economic development is a story of academic fads, says Mario Polese, professor at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société at Montreal’s Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique.

On one hand, this article gives me a little more support for my contention that big schemes like the 530 acre business park are ill-conceived and not destined for success.  On the other hand, even the more entrepreneurial efforts at economic development programs take a beating here. The last paragraph says it all and, indeed, this is what I’ve been advocating all along.  No silver bullets, no simple answers, just do government well over the long term.