A key point to remember is that economic development is more than simply economic growth within a region. Economic growth can occur with or without an overall economic development strategy. Even though it may result in more jobs, unbridled economic growth can result in a degradation of the overall quality of life without proper planning, coordination, and implementation by the community. Regional development is a comprehensive, systematic approach to development that seeks to create wealth and improve the standard of living in a region. Regional development involves the coordinated efforts of private businesses, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies at the national, state, county, and municipal levels.
Community development is a broader concept than economic development.
It attempts to improve the overall quality of life for a region s inhabitants. The role of community development is characterized by broad social issues such as wage levels, distribution of income, poverty, unemployment or underemployment, housing, health care, education, literacy, culture, recreation, social services, and other factors which affect overall quality of life. Economic development, on the other hand, focuses on the role of planned economic growth as a means to create wealth, increase wages, create jobs, broaden the tax base, and improve the quality of life in a region. The principal methods used to implement economic development are business attraction, expansion, and retention. The goal of business attraction is to recruit new firms into the region, as well as their associated new jobs, incomes, and taxes, by marketing to outside firms.