Planned Industrial and Commercial Developments in the United States: A Review of the History, Literature, and Empirical Evidence Regarding Industrial Parks and Research Parks

Planned industrial and commercial developments in the United States can be dated from the industrial districts developed in Chicago at the beginning of this century. This article traces the evolution of planned developments in the United States and examines some of the literature relating to planned developments and their role in local and regional economic development, including a look at the evolution of zoning and land use controls as applied to planned developments. Special attention is given to review of Luger and Goldstein's recent book, Technology in the Garden, allowing analysis of research parks as an evolutionary economic development institution. The available evidence leads to the conclusion that the most successful of recent planned developments have been mixed use developments that make use of agglomeration economies of several types of industries simultaneously, and diversify the economies and risk portfolios of the host regions.