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| Why Use the CEOF? A local economy might be compared to a bucket that the community would like to keep full. Business recruitment and community expansion are attempts to pour more money into the bucket. While these strategies may have succeeded in the past, today they often fail or generate more costs to the community than benefits. But focusing entirely on more ways to fill the bucket ignores vast opportunities. Economic buckets invariably have holes in them through which dollars leak every time local resources are used inefficiently. Smart communities seek profitable ways to keep the bucket full by plugging unnecessary leaks, through energy efficiency for example, and the use of local renewable energy resources. This strategy is good news for communities that have little hope for expansion. It's equally encouraging in places where expansion is creating problems and imposing burdensome costs. Instead of relying on physical expansion or outside sources of wealth for economic growth, communities can discover that they have many alternatives to grow wealth right at home. Rocky Mountain Institute's (RMI) Economic Development staff have spent over twenty years researching, writing, and consulting on ways communities can plug their local leaks and improve the economy; see "Restorative Solutions for Cities and Towns." RMI's publication, Grappling with Growth (Pub: #ER01-24), contains an overview of smart growth strategies and dozens of specific ways communities can engage in creative economic development that respects community values and the environment. |