The twenties: not so calm before the storm

The last in Part I, this chapter looks back and collects some thoughts about onionization, siloization and economic growth. The issue of the state’s role in economic development now begins to shift away from Dillon’s Law as we see southern states take the lead in attracting industry from the North. Joining forces with city chambers, the South acquires a reputation for aggressive recruitment and as a pioneer, albeit a grizzly one, in state business climate competition. In that atmosphere, the first professional association, the American Industrial Development Council (AIDC) is established in 1926 to provide education and guidelines, benchmarks and research to proper economic development. The American industrial economy matures, but not without spinning off a new platform sector: the automobile. Formation of the Great Lakes auto complex is described, as is the economic development activities of the Lehigh Valley anthracite coal-mining in Pennsylvania. But the king of all maturing sectors is New England’s textile industry. Can clusters break? In this chapter we describe the second phase of the New England textile war. Next is a long discussion of community development and neighborhoods, the Chicago School, planned neighborhoods, Clarence Perry and Lewis Mumford. Should community development abandon the capitalist pit that is the central city and go and build new suburbs for the working class? A pivotal debate within community development and regional planning revolves about the role of central cities and how Big Cities can live with their growth. Suburbs are growing and are now part of economic development. In the twenties come J.C. Nichols’s Country Club Mall and subdivision. Suburbanization has taken the gloves off.