New Global Economy
Reminders of Chicago's industrial legacy:
While labor-saving technologies contributed substantially to this decline, global competition played an important role. Major manufacturing firms shifted operations to other regions in the United States or to other countries. At the same time, economies in other countries, particularly in East Asia and in what would eventually become the European Union, grew stronger.
Those changes augured a major shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. They provided opportunities for trade and newer approaches to investment. But they also undermined the United States'--and Chicago's--reliance on manufacturing. The question was now whether Chicago could adapt to these changes.
John McCarron, an urban planning expert, discusses the challenges globalization posed for Chicago: