RESEARCH & SCIENCEPARKS: A New Future For Higher Ed
Through partnerships, higher education institutions can be the engine for research, innovation and workforce development.
Current Issue: July 2025
Digital Edition
View the leading publication in corporate real estate, facility planning, location analysis and foreign direct investment right in your browser. Share the issue on social media, or email to your colleagues all from your desktop.
Read July 2025 IssueCover Story
The 2025 Site Selection SUSTAINABILITY RANKINGS
Site Selection’s unique and far-reaching index has determined the top countries, U.S. states and U.S. metro areas for sustainability, ranking two Texas cities at the top of the U.S. metro list, Texas and California atop the state list and the U.S. as the global leader of sustainability.
Read Cover StoryFeatures
RURAL ADVANTAGE: When the Small Town Is the Smart Move
The draw of small town living is becoming more attractive for big city dwellers looking for a lower cost of living and financial security.
SITE DEVELOPMENT: RAISING THE BAR: How REDI Sites Is Defining The National Standard for Site Readiness
The chair of the board of the Site Selectors Guild’s new REDI Sites certification program describes how it came to be.
WORKFORCE: How One Globally Minded Student Navigated the ‘Translation Chasm’ from Degree to Fulfilling Career
An adapted book excerpt explores how a college student was able to “hack college” to find a pathway to a fulfilling and unique career.
Smart Insights on Smart Cities
After the publication of IMD Smart City Index 2025, I conducted the following email Q&A with IMD World Competitiveness Center Chief Economist and Head of Operations Christos Cabolis.
SMART CITIES: Zurich Leads Swiss Trio Among Top 10 Smart Cities
The 2025 IMD Smart City Index names Zurich No. 1 among three Swiss cities in the top 10.
Start Planning or Fall Behind
No two startup ecosystems operate the same, nor should they.
STARTUP & INNOVATION HUBS: WEST COAST INNOVATION DOMINANCE: Will It Remain?
An index of indices produces a list of top global startup ecosystems, plus Alexis Elmore reports from the 2025 Global Entrepreneurship Congress.
OFFSHORE WIND: Dominating International Breezeways
The global wind energy industry set new installation records in 2024 despite economic and policy challenges.
DATA CENTERS: State Legislation Seeks to Capitalize on Data Center Boom
Michigan, Kansas and West Virginia pass new legislation capitalizing on the data center boom.
SPECIAL REPORT: INFLATION BUSTERS: Would You Put Your HQ Here?
A detailed report presents the most cost-effective locations in the U.S. for manufacturing projects and corporate headquarters projects.
AEROSPACE: Where Aviation’s Next Generation Is Taking Shape
Big developments in aerospace and defense are taking off in North America.
SITE SELECTION PRESENTS 2025 America’s BEST COUNTIES
Jurisdictions in Arizona and Texas top our annual look at leading U.S. counties by corporate project impact.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING: A NATION We Now Get to Build
Findings and state rankings from the Hamilton Index of Advanced-Technology Performance are showcased, with particular attention to manufacturing.
Investment Profiles
SILICON RANCH: How Communities Win In the Solar Farm Arena
Running a state’s economic development office — or the state itself — affords those officeholders valuable opportunities to hear what’s on the minds of company executives looking to invest capital in new facilities.
MARYLAND: America’s Aerospace Ecosystem Starts in Maryland
Aerospace companies looking to get their operations airborne quickly will find they can easily do so in Maryland. Over 9,000 such companies have a presence in the state, perhaps because it has the highest concentration of aerospace engineers in the country.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS: How a Growing Mid-Sized Texas City Builds a Technical Workforce
Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales says there are many reasons why this booming Austin suburb in Central Texas was recently named the No. 15 Best Place to Live in America by U.S. News & World Report.
PENNSYLVANIA: Designed for Industries Of the Future
If you build it, they will come. This sentiment rings true for economic developers as much as it does for farmers building fields of dreams.
COUNTRY OF GEORGIA: New Reports Salute Growth In Global Trade, Innovation And Business Friendliness In the Country of Georgia
In March, John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, and Prof. Steven A. Altman of the NYU Stern School of Business (lead author of the DHL Trade Atlas), shared in-depth analysis of global trade and regional connectedness as part of their ongoing research that tracks countries by both speed and scale of trade growth.
INVESTMENT PROFILE: TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY: THE WAY FORWARD
Nuclear energy is back. The more than 10 million people in seven states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority know this better than most.
International
AFRICA: Will Africa Be the Unlikely Winner in the International AI Race?
Building out the AI infrastructure and workforce in Africa proves to be an ambitious and necessary undertaking.
ASIA: Why the World Isn’t Done with CHINA
China continues to attract a steady stream of foreign direct investments as innovation-led sectors gear up.
U.S. – MEXICOBORDER: Drivers of the Economy
What is impacting economic activity at the U.S.-Mexico border?
Departments
EDITOR’S VIEW: What Who You Know Knows
The Site Selection team pays a lot of attention to all the data and analysis out there in order to direct your attention to the data, analysis and storytelling in here.
Area Spotlights
Maine: Retired Air Force Base Takes on New Life as Business Powerhouse
The city of Limestone sees business revitalization at a retired military base.
Wisconsin: Capturing More Than a Moment
Wisconsin flexes its business muscle beyond the bright lights of the NFL Draft.
Intelligence Reports
TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONNECTION INTELLIGENCE REPORT: FIND Your TOWN
Texas just released an economic development vision called “Blueprint for a Stronger Texas of Tomorrow” with 10 target industries that cover the big stuff. But even conglomerates had to start up somewhere.