Assessing state-of-the-art urban economic development, this book addresses such pertinent issues as the importance of ‘quality of life' in location decisions, and whether industry targetting is a viable economic development strategy. Each chapter is followed by commentaries - one written by an academic addressing research methodology, the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. Each chapter's author then responds to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners and citizens concerned with economic development.