Andrew Beer is Dean, Research and Innovation at the University of South Australia Business School. He previously worked at the University of Adelaide and the Flinders University of South Australia, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide and a PhD from the Australian National University. Terry L. Clower is the North Virginia Chair and Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He is also Director of GMU’s Center for Regional Analysis, the most widely recognized university-based regional economic research unit in the National Capital Region. Previously he was the Director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas.
'Place matters! This red thread through this textbook written by two recognized scholars calls for active care and smart governance for cities and regions. This fine opus offers practical and pedagogical guidelines for professionals and students in urban and regional planning. Both the local and the global arena of competitiveness and of endogenous and external forces are systematically and comprehensively mapped out. This book is a great source of new insights in place-based policy strategies.' – Peter Nijkamp, Universiteit Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS), The Netherlands 'This book is highly recommended in understanding what is happening locally and globally in planning and economic development. It will be a hugely helpful source of information and insight for those going into – or already working in – careers in economic development, urban planning, transport planning, spatial data analysis and applied economic analysis, and indeed the wider world of public policy. Clear, well written, great coverage and with many interesting examples – a must-read.' – David Bailey, Aston Business School, Aston University, UK ‘I strongly recommend this book to all those interested in better understanding economic development at the local, community or regional scales, as well as in accessing an updated and comprehensive toolkit of economic development knowledge, techniques and strategies.’ — Eduardo Medeiros, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal, Regional Studies (2020)