In a world where brick-and-mortor stores are increasingly hard to maintain and afford, mobile businesses fill an important niche for both business owners and consumers.
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How reliant is your local economy on just one company or industry? What would happen if that economic sector disappeared?
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Balancing the relationship between residents, businesses and public perception is a challenging task, but our cities stand to gain a lot if we can get it right.
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Cities are filled with talent, ideas, and hardworking people. We just need to provide them with the platform to be productive.
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Every dollar spent locally is a dollar of wealth retained in the community.
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The simple practice of using Facebook groups to encourage hyper-local connections and commerce is taking off in dozens of cities around the world.
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Here are 5 key ways to get local business owners on your side--whether you're putting together a neighborhood event or advocating for a change in street design.
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I think this community-based approach could go much farther than any president to develop strong, inclusive local economies that would, in turn, help us face other seemingly intractable 21st century issues like climate, energy, diversity and government finance.
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A bottom-up St. Paul project changes how people feel about their city.
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In this interview, Jonathan Holth discusses his work and vision for a better downtown Grand Forks, ND, as well as his perspective as a small business owner and a parent, working to incrementally build a Strong Town.
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Here are the three core characteristics you need for a successful urban center, plus how to creatively make them happen on a shoestring budget.
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Corner stores offer convenience, familiarity, and a small business opportunity in a hyper-local setting. But they're a rare commodity.
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It might not be the answer you're expecting.
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The future of big box stores depends crucially on decisions and facts about land-use, environmental taxes, technology, and population migration trends. Specific stores will fail or thrive depending on the health and choices of the community within which they are embedded.
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The key to building a sustainable local economy is to nurture a diverse set of employers that operate in multiple industries. With the emergence of the Democratized Economy, localized production for regional markets is returning to the fore.
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Combining the small-scale developer model with the co-op model, the Northeast Investment Cooperative brings neighbors together to collectively invest in local properties for as little as $1,000 per person.
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Adding a second story builds community wealth without adding any expense. It's the sure way to real prosperity.
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What is it about the built environment of a historic downtown that makes it a good home for the small independent business but not as appealing to the national retailers?
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Not all economic development is created equal. Not all local investments build wealth in our community. Not all open markets produce optimal outcomes for all places.
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