Freep Columnist Tom Walsh: Industrial town can lead recovery

High-five to all our industrial brethren out there. The first step is always to have someone involved with the Brookings Institution to recognize what's going on, the next step is to actually recover. So, let's get a move on, right?

Excerpt from the Detroit Free Press:

Traditional industrial centers such as Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and yes, even Detroit, may fare better in recovering from the current economic funk than so-called "bubble cities" such as Las Vegas, Tampa, Miami or Riverside, Calif., said Bruce Katz, founding director of the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program.

At a recent London School of Economics symposium on U.S. and European cities, Katz said American bubble cities are characterized by "real estate economies built on consumption and excess."

More mature industrial centers, he said, tend to have strong universities and a history of research, innovation and making things. If America is going to "rediscover our innovation mojo," as Katz put it, traditional industrial metros are best equipped to lead the way.

Read the entire article here.
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