Place and Prosperity: Quality of Place as an Economic Driver

Abstract

A recent report from the Brookings Institution commissioned by GrowSmart Maine concluded that achieving long-term economic health for Maine depends on preserving and investing in the state’s “quality of place.” In this article, based on a report they did for the Governor’s Council on Maine’s Quality of Place, Catherine Reilly and Henry Renski examine whether quality of place is indeed a viable driver of community economic development. They note that Maine has a comparative advantage in quality of place, but that quality-of-place initiatives need to be regional, strategic, and multidimensional, and to involve public, private, and non-profit sectors.