Economic Development Planning
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate-level urban planning course examining why governments plan for economic development and how they pay for it. Topics include US public finance structures, common strategies used to attract and retain business investment, and frameworks for judging whether those strategies actually work. The course weighs development tools against multiple criteria at once, including effectiveness, equity, sustainability, and knock-on effects for other areas of public budgeting. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments as posted by MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning. There is no instructor interaction or credential in this self-paced version, but all course materials are freely downloadable under MIT's open license, making it a solid entry point for anyone studying municipal or regional economic policy.