Which comes first, economic growth or real estate development?

Remember how Gov. David Paterson claimed Atlantic Yards would "have job creation the likes of which Brooklyn has never seen?"

Consider this quote: Real estate development doesn't create economic growth, it follows it.

(Italics in original)

The source is The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs, by Roberta Brandes Gratz.

I'll write more about the book shortly, but suffice it to say, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with a "never-ending waiting list for production businesses wishing to get in," comes off far better than does Atlantic Yards.

As it should. Remember the $6 billion lie?