Cities with Economic Development Plans

 
Summary
A strategy in the 2016-2020 Countywide Strategic Plan is to advocate for the development and implementation of citywide economic development plans among the 88 cities in Los Angeles County.

From Propel L.A.’s survey on economic development and business friendliness, it is estimated that 54 cities (61%) in Los Angeles County already have a citywide economic development plan as of January 1, 2018.  Furthermore, it is estimated that 14 more cities (16%) will join those with an existing economic development plan by 2020, thereby increasing the total number of cities with an economic development plan to 68 (77%).  However, it is estimated that 20 cities (23%) in Los Angeles County will not have an economic development plan by 2020.

Analysis is based on 90% confidence level.

Why economic development?
Propel L.A and LAEDC consider economic development as an essential and central instrument in “advancing opportunity and prosperity for all the residents of the greater Los Angeles region.”  In short, economic development is the development of wealth of a region for the well-being of its inhabitants. From a policy perspective, economic development can be defined as efforts that seek to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants through education, job creation, and livable communities.

In the former Countywide Strategic Plan (2010-2014), Los Angeles County’s leaders noted the many risks associated with the absence of a plan for future economic development, including “reduced quality of life, social inequity, disinvestment and a corroding economic environment that undermines job growth, impairs business attraction and retention, and depresses overall economic well-being and wealth creation.”  In the Information Age economy, a plan for economic development serves as an essential guide to long-term regional prosperity.