Identifying Bay Area Regional Economic Development Priorities PDF Download

The purpose of this project is to identify the economic development priorities of the cities and sub-regions in the San Francisco Bay Area. It also focuses on economic development for low-and moderate-income (LMI) communities. An inventory of existing economic development reports from the cities, counties, sub-regions, and region was compiled to assist in identifying major themes. Interviews of 24 economic development officers from around the region and members of the Bay Area Business Coalition were conducted. As a result of reviewing the reports and synthesizing the interview data, five key themes emerged: supporting, recruiting, and retaining businesses; bridging jobs and skills gap; addressing the effects of the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) dissolution; collaborating and coordinating versus competing with jurisdictions within a sub-region; and recognizing the need for a regional strategy. This paper concludes with a reflection on the strong sub-regional identities and the implications for regional planning and how the Bay Area can leverage sub-regional strengths for an economic development strategy. Additionally, this paper discusses the impacts of the RDA loss on LMI communities recommending that cities may need to focus on developing business partnerships, collaborate more with surrounding cities and sub-regions, and find other sources of funding to fill the gaps. This project was completed in collaboration with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BACEI). The findings will feed into a forward-looking regional economic development strategy.