Investments in upstate New York's Canal Corridor communities are generating a much broader range of jobs, among them high-skilled, high-paying jobs throughout the region, shows a study by Cornell researchers in the Department of City and Regional Planning (CRP).
The study projected the creation of 10,600 new jobs beyond the tourism sector as a result of federal investments and leveraged funds. Those new findings are part of a Phase II report on Canal Corridor revitalization efforts by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The 29-county Canal Corridor region encompasses cities, towns and villages from Albany to Buffalo and stretches as far north as Ogdensburg and as far south as Kingston.
In its Phase I report, issued in September 1999, the Cornell researchers identified 17,000 new jobs in the tourism sector (retail, restaurants, hotels, transportation and recreation services) as a result of HUD's direct infusion of $237 million in grants and loans in the region since 1997.
The new Phase II report, "Diversifying and Rebuilding Local Economies," focuses on efforts by communities throughout the region to generate new economic activity in manufacturing, business services and other sectors, through investments in tourism facilities and infrastructure. Based on continuing research that traces how expenditures move through various sectors of the economy, the report shows that 38 percent of all jobs projected as a result of HUD's investment will be in industries outside tourism, such as manufacturing, financial services and insurance.
The study's coordinator, Susan Christopherson, Cornell professor of city and regional planning, said: "A region that has suffered historically from a deteriorating tax base and out-migration of population is now beginning to see the benefits of HUD's federal investment."
And as towns invest to attract more tourists, they also become attractive places for skilled businesses to locate. "Our research and our first-hand contact with Canal Corridor communities indicate that in addition to the 17,000 jobs created in tourism-related industries, communities are seeing the creation of new business opportunities requiring a wide range of skills," Christopherson said.
HUD's $237 million investment leverages an additional $361 million in private sector and local government investments in tourism-related projects, infrastructure development and business retention and expansion. In addition, HUD's partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in investments along the Canal Corridor is a catalyst, with $160 million in USDA funds targeted to the region, which in turn spurred $41.5 million in private and local government investment.
In their Phase I report, the researchers found anecdotal evidence showing that spinoff development beyond tourism would create more diverse jobs and spur more revenue across the canal region. The Phase II report examines that trend through a Social Accounting Matrix model (SAM) in addition to evidence collected through detailed case studies and a survey of Canal Corridor communities. The new report finds that as communities diversify their local economy through HUD's canal investments, additional jobs in manufacturing and other sectors are created.
"In our research, local officials throughout the region cite the continued importance of professional economic development assistance from HUD and other sources as key to continuing to move canal investments forward," Christopherson added.
The Cornell research team included Sid Saltzman, professor of city and regional planning, and graduate research assistants Rainer vom Hofe, Karen Westmont and Eric Wilson. The Canal Corridor research project is one of several outreach efforts by the Cornell CRP to assist upstate New York economic development.
For a copy of the Canal Corridor Report, Phase II, see this CRP web site: http://www.aap.cornell.edu/crp.
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