Specialization: Economic development
Planners have a major role to play in promoting the development of state, regional, and local economies. This specialization introduces students to the issues and principles of economic development planning. Among the issues covered are specific processes of industrial restructuring and labor force change, the geographic migration of firms, the role of government in encouraging economic growth, the increasing importance of the service sector and high-tech industries, and the role of public/private partnerships.
Students examine the issues and dilemmas communities face when they seek explicitly to guide the economic development process. They learn about: definitions of economic development; distributional issues in economic development; differing theoretical and conceptual explanations of the economic development process; international, national, and regional factors affecting local economic development; federal, state, and local roles; key elements in the economic development process (including finance tools); and contrasting economic development approaches.
Required courses in the economic development specialization are:
Foundations of Local Economic Development Planning and Policy
Economic Development Analysis and Practice
Students must also take two additional courses in their particular interest area in economic development from the City and Regional Planning Program, the School of Public Policy, other Georgia Tech units, or Georgia State University. Available courses include:
Industrial Restructuring and Its Planning Implications
Urban Development Policy
Introduction to Real Estate Finance and Development
Methods of Urban Policy Analysis and Practice
Technology, Regions and Policy
Development Economics
Economics of Development
Environmental Costs of Economic Development