Creating Communities that Draw People and Business Under the New Workplace Model

ATLANTA — As communities move past the effects of COVID-19 and the economic turmoil stemming from the pandemic, economic development professionals are fully engaged in recovery.

The 56th Annual Georgia Tech Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) will arm these professionals with the tools and strategies needed to maximize opportunity and potential for local communities in a four-day course from August 28-31. (Register: http://tiny.cc/BEDC2023)

The new realities of today’s workforce in a post-pandemic economy means communities must reimagine themselves in ways that make them more attractive to people as places to live and for businesses to operate.

Presented by Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute in collaboration with the International Economic Development Council and the Georgia Economic Developers Association, this comprehensive course will explore the use of placemaking as an economic development tool to help professionals create quality places where people want to live and businesses believe they will thrive.

The 2023 theme is Placemaking and Economic Recovery: Creating Communities Where People Want to Live and Businesses Want to Be. Keynote speakers include Eric Kronberg, founder of Kronberg Urbanists Architects, and Elizabeth Ward Williams, that firm’s director of urban design.

“We know the pandemic has changed the way we operate in a lot of ways with telecommuting and remote working being a fixed reality for business and job seekers,” said Alan Durham, BEDC course director. With work-from-home or hybrid commuting schedules the norm, communities need to rethink how they create strategies and make them more appealing to potential residents and business investments, he said.

“Our course is designed to teach attendees how to maximize opportunities in this new reality. People aren’t moving to a given community simply to be closer to work if there’s no central office or even a requirement to go into one,” Durham said. “So, it’s imperative that officials looking to boost their communities’ economic development opportunities shift their thinking.”

Part of that shift means focusing on strategies that create an attractive quality of life both for residents and business, plan for economic recovery and resilience, smart incentive packages, and other tools. Communities must also find creative ways to address the shortage of workforce and entry-level housing options. 

BEDC course speakers will address several topics over the four days that will help attendees capitalize on their communities’ unique assets and how they can effectively use and maximize placemaking as an economic development tool.

Among the course topics:

• Workforce Housing Strategies
• Business Retention and Expansion
• Real Estate Development and Reuse
• Business Credit Analysis
• Workforce Development
• Strategic Planning
• Economic Impact and Incentives
• Managing Economic Development Organizations
• Ethics in Economic Development
• Small Business and Entrepreneur Development
• Marketing and Attraction
• Disaster Recovery and Resilience
• Media Strategy

This four-day conference gives attendees opportunities to network with industry peers and experts, deeply explore the fundamentals and emerging concepts of comprehensive economic development and prepare them to immediately implement tools and skills gained during the course. 

Since its inception in 1967, the Georgia Tech BEDC has prepared more than 3,300 economic developers from all over the world for the IEDC Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) Examination. The certification is considered an essential component of a career in economic development. BEDC at Georgia Tech is accredited by the IEDC and qualifies as a professional development training requirement needed to sit for the exam.