Rebooting Local Economies: How to Build Prosperous Communities is highly recommended by practitioners, elected officials, and others involved in community and economic development…….
“Using real-world examples blended with just the right amount of academic research, Rebooting Local Economies is the equivalent of a master class in how to build a prosperous community. If you are an economic developer of an American community in need of a turnaround at any level, Robert Pittman, Rhonda Phillips and Amanda Sutt have done the homework for you and produced a blueprint for success. They have distilled the work of community development and improvement to its essence, and they have documented the results that inevitably follow when this recipe is followed. I encourage every elected community official, city manager and economic developer in the U.S. to read this manual. It’s the best book on this topic I have read in a very long time.”—Ron Starner, Executive Vice President, Site Selection Magazine and Conway, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
“Rebooting Local Economies: How to Build Prosperous Communities provides real life stories that can put you on a path to building a more prosperous community. If you’re an elected official, board member, community volunteer or citizen who aspires to live in a prosperous community, Rebooting Local Economies: How to Build Prosperous Communities is a must read.”—Glenn McCullough, Jr., Former Mayor, Tupelo, Mississippi, Chairman—Tennessee Valley Authority ‘01–’05, Executive Director Mississippi Development Authority ‘15–‘20
“You have done almost an impossible task of creating a really concise guide for community development. The case studies are particularly interesting—and compelling. Strategic planning has long been associated with successful organizations; much time and energy have been devoted to creating plans that, for one reason or another, fail to be implemented.
In How to Build Prosperous Communities, community leaders are offered a roadmap to community prosperity that can be achieved by breaking the process into manageable components. The incorporation of important topics for consideration, including impacts from the global health pandemic, as well as contemporary case studies of communities with diverse populations, will provide individuals a masterful approach to changing the culture of their communities in dramatic fashion.”—James F. Mellichamp, President, Piedmont University, Demorest, Georgia
“The book was very informative—it is a must read for local leadership and a blueprint for success in economic development.”—Greg James, Chair, Board of Commissioners, Rabun County, Georgia
“The authors do an excellent job outlining economic development initiatives and follow it up with case studies and examples where the initiatives have worked. This quick read is a great tool to have at your fingertips as a City official.”—Chuck Warbington, City Manager, Lawrenceville, Georgia
“This is a great resource for community leaders to share so they are all working from the same play book for the critical work of community economic development. It is a quick read with easy-to-use resources no matter what level of experience you have.”—Nicole Love Hendrickson, Chairwoman, Board of Commissioners, Gwinnett County, Georgia
“I have been lucky enough to be part of a team of elected officials that have revitalized our downtown to become the pinnacle example of how to revitalize a city. After reading Rebooting Local Economies, I realize I have not considered many gaps in our economic development plan. This book gives recent and relevant research to show trends as well as being written for anyone to easily follow regardless if you are in industry or not. It has left me with many ideas to research and implement that I hadn’t considered before. I really enjoyed the read!”—Greg Whitlock, City Council, Duluth, Georgia