World Wide Web

Community Economic Toolbox
http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu

Communities today face real challenges. Jobs, incomes, education, proximity of family members, and general well-being are all tied to a community economy’s effectiveness, dynamism and resiliency. More than ever before, citizens, public and private employers, and civil servants are actively involved in critically examining their local economies as they plan their economic futures. To be successful, everyone involved needs to know how their economy works—its strengths, weaknesses and hidden potential. This web site, with its tools and links to a wide range of economic development literatures, is designed to enable anyone interested in their local economy to use standard indicators to make a first cut at understanding its potential.

A set of tools have been selected that are standard in the field of community economic development. The focus is on understanding elements of a local economy that can often be affected by public policy. In most cases comparisons are provided with the state and the nation to give the user a better sense of the relative circumstances found locally. Suggestions are provided for how to use the results of the tools to formulate a picture of the local area and to consider future options.

The Community Economic Toolbox was developed as a project for communities and individuals by Dr. Amy Glasmeier, Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University, for the Web site Poverty in America (http://www.povertyinamerica.psu.edu).

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North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Iowa State University
107 Curtiss Hall
Ames, IA 50011-1050
(515) 294-8321, (515) 294-3180 fax

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Last updated April 10, 2007 .