Tag

economic development

Economic activity is a crucial part of a healthy community, whether it’s access to quality jobs for residents, business support, or a functioning, diverse range of retail options.

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A massive 9-story red brick armory with a curved metal roof, seen from one end. Reminiscent of medieval architecture, the edifice has two tall crenelated towers with conical roofs flanking the main entrance, and another, shorter tower topped by a gazebo. A chain-link fence borders the property, and buses, trucks, and cars can be seen in the street, and pedestrians on the sidewalk.

There’s a Community Oversight Fight Brewing in the Bronx

After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped—and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.

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Reported Article

Using Business as a Force For Good

B Corps are for-profit businesses that focus strongly on their social and environmental impact. The movement has grown to 1,800-plus worldwide and now cities, economic authorities, and activists are trying to attract more of these mission-driven and worker-friendly companies to help spur economic growth.

A black and white photo of children playing at New Communities in Georgia, the largest African-American owned parcel of land in the U.S. in the 1960s.
Review

Continuing the Dream

New Communities Inc. was the largest African-American owned parcel of land in the United States the late 1960s. For more than 15 years, it survived attempts at sabotage and other challenges thanks to the collective efforts of as many as 500 families.

Equity

Keeping Everyone Afloat: Is Universal Basic Income the Answer?

Advocates and organizers who deal with the needs of the poor often say it’s not really a housing/food/training issue, it’s an income issue. So what would happen if we just addressed income?

Reported Article

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?

Interview

Interview with Michael Rubinger, former CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Rubinger was at LISC’s founding and from 1999 to June 2016, he headed the organization, steering it most recently on a path toward comprehensive community development rather than just housing work.

The Answer

Q: Do Economic Development Incentives Support Small Businesses?

A. Not very much. Despite the claims of many states, when you look at the numbers, the vast majority of taxpayer dollars directed to economic development go to big corporations.

How Not To Do Economic Development

Camden is one of the most distressed cities in the United States, and if any city needs state help to build its economy, it’s Camden. While the state of New […]

Embedding Equity Into Economic Development

It is another summer in which America’s deep racial fault lines are being painfully exposed. Following the horrific violence in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, and Dallas, in a July 8 […]

Putting the Impact in Impact Investing

Impact investing is a popular idea that promises to channel the power of market capitalism into serving the common good. Broadly defined, impact investing is a way for individuals, philanthropies, […]

The Answer

Q: What’s the difference between community economic development and traditional economic development ?

A: A lot! In fact, they are so different that the Democracy Collaborative, which made the chart below, has coined the term “community wealth building” to set apart the truly community-oriented practitioners of economic development.

The Next Boom for Worker Co-ops?

Baby boomers are the largest percentage of business owners, and they’re headed toward retirement. The worker cooperative movement wants to keep the jobs they’ve created from disappearing.

Health

Developing Economic, Along with Physical, Health

Sue Joss and Jason Barbosa might seem to be unlikely economic development partners. She is the veteran CEO of a major nonprofit health care provider in Brockton, Massachusetts, just south […]