Housing and Communities Built to Last?
Shaun Donovan is secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Outside of the limelight, the Obama administration has been quietly pursuing ambitious changes to better support healthy neighborhoods and regions. Will these programs be allowed to come to fruition?
Outside of the limelight, the Obama administration has been quietly pursuing ambitious changes to better support healthy neighborhoods and regions. Will these programs be allowed to come to fruition?
Put Your Spending Where Your Goals Are
Local procurement policies take money already being spent and direct it to local businesses to get more economic development benefit for the buck.
Inclusive Growth, Identity, Poverty-Alleviation, and Freedom
I am writing from India, where last week a small but significant convening took place. Some 250 experts (business leaders, academics, and other thinkers)...
What’s Next in Arts & Economic Development
There’s something you should know about me: I’m a professional amateur. For the past seven years I’ve been co-writing and...
A Mobility Strategy Offers Real Choices
Last January, The New York Times Magazine published "The Myth of Community Development" by Nicholas Lemann. The article painted a gloomy picture of urban...
Hubs Help Move the Local Food Movement to the Next Level
It’s not unusual to read a press release from a governor’s or mayor’s office celebrating a deal to bring a new company to a neighborhood or city. Typically we’d be talking about a new manufacturing or tech firm, and the press release would speak glowingly of the prospects for economic development. Which makes a bit […]
The CFPB Needs Sunlight: Keep Easy Access to HMDA Data
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reassurances on continued public access to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data are not very reassuring.
Connecting CDFIs and Impact Investors
It should be a natural fit; what’s in the way?
Vacant Storefronts: They’re Not Just For Ghost Towns Anymore
From the City of Millville way down in South Jersey to Morristown up in the northern state suburbs, downtowns across New Jersey are approaching...
Questioning the Core of Charlottesville’s Economy
What makes a local economy thrive, not just on the surface, but deep down?
I found myself...
Why CDFIs Should Go To College
During three decades of working to close the financial gaps that confront a disproportionate number of low-income, minority...
A New Way to Finance Equitable Economic Development?
Big companies discovered the long-stagnant Immigrant Investor Program EB-5 after the 2008 financial crisis. Can community developers bend the program toward their goals too?
The Power of Proximity: Making the Case for Living Where You Work
Twenty years later, it’s hard to overstate how wise I think that group of board members was in imposing its residency requirement on me. While initially skeptical, over the years I’ve learned some powerful lessons about the benefits of proximity.
Why the Community Reinvestment Act Must Be Expanded Broadly Throughout the Financial Industry
The financial industry has been one of the main perpetrators of racial discrimination. It should be obligated to serve all communities, particularly communities of color.
Green Jobs with Roots
For the founders of Cleveland's Evergreen Coops, putting a handful of people to work at minimum wage isn't worth it. They are aiming at nothing less than a ground-up economic transformation -- one owned by the very people it's intended to help.
Focus on Scale Up, Not Start-up
To truly transform local neighborhoods, we must shift our attention to invest in enterprise scale, not start-ups, as a long-lasting solution for creating good jobs.
5 Tips for Increasing Contractor Diversity
RATE YOUR CONTRACTORS
Consider creating “contractor report cards.” Chances are contractors bidding on a project have worked in your city before. Check to see how...
Sustainable Revitalization For America’s Smaller Cities
Andre Leroux, executive director of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, believes that New England’s smaller cities hold the potential to absorb much development that...
Easing into Investment?
Joe Kriesberg of Mass. Assoc. of CDCs recently took a trip to Cuba with a group of community development colleagues....
Worker Co-ops: Hope in the Desert
“Political democracy requires economic democracy.” I spent Election Day in—of all places—Las Vegas, Nevada....