Updated December 2, 2008 - Click here to download a PDF version of this strategy.

MetroFuture anticipates that the region will add over 290,000 new jobs from 2000 – 2030.  This plan is not an economic development strategy per se, in the sense that it does not analyze specific industry sectors or recommend particular incentive programs for attracting and retaining jobs.  MetroFuture’s role in economic development falls into two broad categories: establishing the preconditions that support robust economic growth, and recommending how that growth should be sustainably distributed throughout the region.  

The most prominent preconditions for economic growth include a well-educated and healthy workforce (Strategies 6 and 7), diverse housing opportunities (Strategy 3), an efficient transportation system (Strategy 4), and coordinated public policy (Strategy 1).  The recommendations in this strategy also seek to lay the groundwork for economic growth, through streamlined permitting, stronger institutional/civic collaboration, and support for the many small businesses and creative industries that are sometimes overlooked in the regional planning process.  

While MetroFuture supports robust economic growth, it also seeks to focus that growth in appropriate locations.  In an age of scarce resources, investments in transportation, housing, and education must be coordinated in order to be effective.  Patterns of economic development can either reinforce these investments, or can diminish their effectiveness through lack of coordination.  Economic development planning and incentive programs should recognize this need for coordination and should seek to achieve it through consistency with MetroFuture land use plan and the Sustainable Development Principles.