As border war continues, Kansas City region builds a bridge (Rachel Barker, Marek Gootman, Brookings)

For many regions, collaborating on common economic goals—rather than competing against each other for firms and deals—is a major challenge. That struggle is exacerbated in multistate regions like the Washington, D.C., and New York metropolitan areas, where state leaders willing to sign over millions in tax incentives to move jobs across a state border can add another layer of competition.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2016/10/13/as-border-war-continues-kansas-city-region-builds-a-bridge/

The making of global cities: Stories from the Global Cities Exchange (Rachel Barker, Amy Liu, Marek Gootman, Brookings)

Over the last two years, enterprising software engineers and coders representing a dozen startups hailing from as far as Ireland, Brazil, and Germany have arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, for a 100-day sprint to take their innovations to market. Organized by the region’s Global Insurance Accelerator, these entrepreneurs are equipped with $40,000 in seed capital and trained in sales, business development, marketing, and other business essentials. Insurance carriers, who each invested $100,000 in the accelerator, serve as mentors and experts, providing real-world insights while also getting a first look at emerging startups and innovations. Participants conclude the program by pitching their ideas to the hundreds of industry leaders from around the world that attend Des Moines’ annual Global Insurance Symposium.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-making-of-global-cities-stories-from-the-global-cities-exchange/

Atlanta links international disputes and airport as runway to global services economy (Marek Gootman, Rachel Barker, Brookings)

Scanning the departures and arrivals board on the way home from launching metro Atlanta’s new foreign direct investment strategy under the Global Cities Initiative, it was easy to understand why local leaders remain focused on finding strategies to better leverage their airport as a unique infrastructure asset for global economic opportunities

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2016/05/25-atlanta-airport-global-services-gootman-barker

The Road Map to post-secondary success in Greater Seattle (Rachel Barker, Alan Berube, Brookings)

Think of Seattle’s workforce and you may imagine overworked tech employees at Amazon, Microsoft software developers, or Boeing engineers.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2016/02/24-post-secondary-success-seattle-barker-berube