From Golden Triangle to Super Region: Changes in KY Regional Thinking

The "Golden Triangle" was a regionalist concpet that saw Cincinnati as the apex of a triangle of economic prosperity in the Bluegrass State that included Louisville & Lexington as the other two corners.  And, as we've seen from previous posts Lexington is doing quite well and Louisville isnt doing too bad either, in terms of growth of metro GDP and population. 

Now a new regionalist concept that drops Cincy and looks at Lexington and Louisville as a super region, seeing a connection along the I-64 corridor (this would include the state capitol, Frankfort, and the county seat town of Shelbyville, which is or was still outside the official Louisville MSA. 

Louisville and Lexington propose marriage as path to prosperity

In February, Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer joked that Louisville and Lexington were “dating,” eyeing each other as potential mates for an economic “super-region.” Last week came the promise ring, a loose commitment to a somewhat abstract concept.

The official news was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative America event in Chicago. Fischer and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, also a Democrat, along with the Brookings Institution, a Washington D.C.-based think-tank, will work on a regional economic development business plan for the next 18 months. The focus? Make Lex-ville a hub for high-tech auto manufacturing.

Cool!  Yet another Brookings report to download!