Similarly, Jersey City has successfully transformed itself from a manufacturing-based economy to a financial center. Its proximity to New York City makes this transformation seem obvious in hindsight, but other similarly situated cities have not made comparable strides. Most of the cities in the study made significant investments in infrastructure and people to aid the transition to a knowledge-based economy.
For example, Greensboro, North Carolina, worked with the nearby cities of Winston-Salem and High Point to build a regional airport and to replace its manufacturing economy with one based on high-tech research and production.