Building a new local economy: Lessons from the United States

The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) is keen to support places to build new local economies where economic growth is twinned with social inclusion. To assist in this, CLES utilises both an existing wealth of knowledge and experience; and fresh learning. This publication details the learning derived from a trip to the United States in Summer 2015 and is linked to CLES’ wider thinking about local economic development. The purpose of the trip was to explore how places in the United States have responded to economic decline, growth and social development opportunity; and to identify practice  and lessons which could be applied in a UK context.