Metro regions are growing, producing more, and creating unprecedented levels of employment. This report describes the scope of metro areas, their vital contribution to the nation's economy, the level of income creation by metro areas, generation of new industries by metro areas, and the relationship between metro areas and the nation's overall economic growth. The report also ranks U. S. metro areas relative to themselves, states and national economies around the world. The 1990s U.S. metro areas' contribution to Gross Domestic Product grew from 84.3 percent in 1990 to 84.7 percent in 2000 and is forecast to increase steadily over the next 25 years, reaching 86.9 percent in 2025. Mayors believe national and international economic policies must focus on the needs of the 319 economically potent metropolitan regions surveyed in the report.
Cities are economic powerhouses.
You may not see it, but every day, in cities across the nation, Mayors are working to forge partnerships on the national and international economic stages. It might mean, if you really think about it, that there are a number of Mayors in this country who are taking their rightful places as world economic leaders. Because of their economic clout, in the coming years you will see mayors leading trade delegations as much if not more so than governors. Institutions involved in promoting trade, such as the Commerce Department, will have to reinvent themselves to think metro economies, not states. We think a national energy plan should encourage even more people to take transit.