Associate Professor Lynn McCormick, who teaches courses in economic development, employment policy and planning, and manufacturing retention, authored a chapter in the recently published Handbook of Manufacturing Industries in the World Economy (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015). Entitled “The city and industry: deurbanizing manufacturing in New York City?,” the chapter examines the issues surrounding manufacturing retention in the city.
As the chapter points out, in 1950s, New York City was the largest manufacturing hub in the United States, with over one million workers. Today, manufacturers in the city employ about 75,000 people, or less than 3 percent of all local workers. Planners and policymakers face a question of whether to attempt to retain the manufacturing that remains or let it go and foster service sector expansion instead. For further reading, click here.