Living Regionally, Thinking Locally

It would sound pretty silly at this point to talk of the District economy, or the Fairfax economy or the Prince William economy. The way most people and businesses experience it, this is a regional economy -- one that is becoming more so every day.

The markets from which employers draw their workers, from which companies draw their suppliers, from which retailers draw their customers -- surely all of these are regional.

There's a regional housing market, in which the supply and prices in one area affect the supply and prices in another.

And in the competition for top talent from around the world, the "creative class," it is the region's offerings of airports, universities, sporting and cultural venues, restaurants and recreational possibilities that are considered, not those of any one location.

To the degree the economy is regional, so are its problems -- transportation gridlock, the lack of affordable housing, the skills mismatch between what companies need and what workers can offer. And yet, with the exception of Metro and the airport authority, most of the regional mechanisms and institutions we have for addressing them are either weak and ineffective, or are yet to be developed.

Read more here.