The most pressing question facing the small and mid-sized cities of America's industrial heartland is how to reinvent themselves. Once-thriving communities in the Northeastern and Midwestern U. S. have decayed sharply as the high-wage manufacturing jobs that provided the foundation for their prosperity disappeared. A few larger cities had the resources to adjust, but most smaller places that relied on factory work have struggled to do so. Unless and until they find new economic roles for themselves, the small cities will continue to decline. Reinventing these smaller cities is a tall order. A few might still function as nodes of industrial production. But landing a foreign-owned auto manufacturer or a green energy plant hardly solves every problem. The new jobs will not be unionized and thus will not pay nearly as much as the positions lost. The competition among localities for high-tech and knowledge economy firms is intense. Decaying towns with poor schools and few amenities are hardly in a good position to attract the "creative-class" workers they need. Getting to the point where they can lure such companies will require extensive retooling, not just economically but in terms of their built environment, cultural character, political economy, and demographic mix. Such changes often run counter to the historical currents that defined these places as factory towns. After the Factory examines the fate of industrial small cities from a variety of angles. It includes essays from a variety of disciplines that consider the sources and character of economic growth in small cities. They delve into the history of industrial small cities, explore the strategies that some have adopted, and propose new tacks for these communities as they struggle to move forward in the twenty-first century. Together, they constitute a unique look at an important and understudied dimension of urban studies and globalization.

My inspiration for doing this journal and writing this book is basically an outlet to have a say. Never have been one to get up in front of a group of people and speak. I always had this excellent memory and writing was a way for me to get it out and so, I decided to do just that. So many times down through the years I was told by friends and even some professional people, I should write a book. My attempt to live in a normal family, from the time I was very young, it was never destined to happen. That's just the way it was, a higher power was and is the ruler over that. The thing that most people take for granted, family, has always been a missing link in my life. As a result, I have to talk mostly about experiences; things; hobbies; friends etc. and that is why you will find the absence of family in the context of my story. I would have loved to have had family to be a part of my life. When I retired from the Teamster via the BOEING Co. in October 1995, I already had work to go to immediately and worked clear into 2002. My Mother passed away in August 1999 and she had lived a full life to 95 years of age. Even though I had 3 daughters living and doing their thing in different parts of the country, at that particular time, my relationship with 2 of them was minimal and non-existent with the 3rd. After having moved up to Camano Island in 2003 and planning to stay there permanently, well.......it turned out that wasn't what I really wanted after I got there and only lived there for 10 months, sold that house, packed up all my stuff and hauled it to Texas. I had decided I would make an attempt to live near my oldest daughter. It would at least give me a chance to maybe have a bond with my flesh and blood once in awhile. It worked in the very short term till she changed jobs and moved to Dallas. Too little, too late, it was not in the cards. At this point my oldest daughter and I have a pleasant relationship even though we see each other maybe twice a year. Flying up to my home area in Washington state once or twice a year is one of the things I really look forward to. I have some real solid friends in Washington that will always be my best friends. I'm really a Lucky Guy Mike Hicks

My inspiration for doing this journal and writing this book is basically an outlet to have a say. Never have been one to get up in front of a group of people and speak. I always had this excellent memory and writing was a way for me to get it out and so, I decided to do just that. So many times down through the years I was told by friends and even some professional people, I should write a book. My attempt to live in a normal family, from the time I was very young, it was never destined to happen. That's just the way it was, a higher power was and is the ruler over that. The thing that most people take for granted, family, has always been a missing link in my life. As a result, I have to talk mostly about experiences; things; hobbies; friends etc. and that is why you will find the absence of family in the context of my story. I would have loved to have had family to be a part of my life. When I retired from the Teamster via the BOEING Co. in October 1995, I already had work to go to immediately and worked clear into 2002. My Mother passed away in August 1999 and she had lived a full life to 95 years of age. Even though I had 3 daughters living and doing their thing in different parts of the country, at that particular time, my relationship with 2 of them was minimal and non-existent with the 3rd. After having moved up to Camano Island in 2003 and planning to stay there permanently, well.......it turned out that wasn't what I really wanted after I got there and only lived there for 10 months, sold that house, packed up all my stuff and hauled it to Texas. I had decided I would make an attempt to live near my oldest daughter. It would at least give me a chance to maybe have a bond with my flesh and blood once in awhile. It worked in the very short term till she changed jobs and moved to Dallas. Too little, too late, it was not in the cards. At this point my oldest daughter and I have a pleasant relationship even though we see each other maybe twice a year. Flying up to my home area in Washington state once or twice a year is one of the things I really look forward to. I have some real solid friends in Washington that will always be my best friends. I'm really a Lucky Guy Mike Hicks

Wal-Marts' ubiquity presents a potential problem for policymakers confronting local issues (zoning, infrastructure, taxation, etc.) which influence the location of new stores. Despite a proliferation of Wal-Mart related writing, the consensus among researchers writing peer review work is far less conclusive than either the critics or advocates of the retailer contend. This makes disentangling the effect of Wal-Mart on local economies increasing difficult. While there have been other books on Wal-Mart, none has provided scholarly economic analysis of the impact of this retail giant. The Local Economic Impact of Wal-Mart is the first to fill this gap with a critical review of the existing literature; it also provides significant empirical evidence which highlights important questions. This book will be a critical addition for all collections in Business, Economics, Political Science, and Sociology. "The author is interested in facts. He asks the right questions and provides the answers that thorough research suggests. He surveys the weight of evidence and analysis in the existing literature, and adds some informed insights of his own. This is what good economists are supposed to do. There are no wild claims or hidden agendas here. This book is a triumph of empiricism over mysticism." - Lawrence W. Reed, President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Midland, Michigan

The most pressing question facing the small and mid-sized cities of America's industrial heartland is how to reinvent themselves. Once-thriving communities in the Northeastern and Midwestern U. S. have decayed sharply as the high-wage manufacturing jobs that provided the foundation for their prosperity disappeared. A few larger cities had the resources to adjust, but most smaller places that relied on factory work have struggled to do so. Unless and until they find new economic roles for themselves, the small cities will continue to decline. Reinventing these smaller cities is a tall order. A few might still function as nodes of industrial production. But landing a foreign-owned auto manufacturer or a green energy plant hardly solves every problem. The new jobs will not be unionized and thus will not pay nearly as much as the positions lost. The competition among localities for high-tech and knowledge economy firms is intense. Decaying towns with poor schools and few amenities are hardly in a good position to attract the "creative-class" workers they need. Getting to the point where they can lure such companies will require extensive retooling, not just economically but in terms of their built environment, cultural character, political economy, and demographic mix. Such changes often run counter to the historical currents that defined these places as factory towns. After the Factory examines the fate of industrial small cities from a variety of angles. It includes essays from a variety of disciplines that consider the sources and character of economic growth in small cities. They delve into the history of industrial small cities, explore the strategies that some have adopted, and propose new tacks for these communities as they struggle to move forward in the twenty-first century. Together, they constitute a unique look at an important and understudied dimension of urban studies and globalization.