Economic Gardening Helps Communities Grow Their Own Jobs

Economic Gardening is an entrepreneurial approach to economic development - and a philosophy begun in Littleton, Colorado to strengthen local entrepreneurship. 

Economic Gardening website.

This Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta article provides a overview of Economic Gardening, examples of other communities engaging in Economic Gardening practices and links to data resources.

"Economic gardening" is an innovative, entrepreneur-based development strategy that has begun gaining attention nationwide.

Often contrasted with "economic hunting" strategies that aim to recruit development opportunities from outside the community, economic gardening is designed to "grow your own" jobs through entrepreneurial activity within the community.

Economic development plans typically include four key tactics—business recruitment; retention; expansion; and entrepreneurial development. As economic developers in cities and towns across the country compete fiercely to implement policies that are both attractive to industry and promote sustainable job growth, emphasis on entrepreneurship is growing.

Traditional approaches to economic development have focused primarily on the first three development tactics and have relied on tax incentives and other financial benefits to strengthen local economies. Increasingly, urban and rural communities, and even states, are starting to shift their economic development focus to the fourth element—entrepreneurial development.

Read the article here.