Coffee shops have a lot to teach us about our neighborhoods and the people we share them with. Here are three of them.
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Local bookstores are a surprising bright spot in an era that’s been tough for other retail. The key to their resurgence: they’ve turned themselves into a symbol of community and quirk worth celebrating. And they inspired one author to sing their praises in a slightly unusual way…
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Can a humble corner bookstore make your city wealthier and more resilient? These small businesses have surprising staying power—and in many ways are an indicator species of a strong neighborhood.
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Joanna Jurgens, Head of Business Affairs at Sofar Sounds, shares how you can foster a local music scene in your community, including how to awaken that DIY spirit that’s so essential to kickstarting a local music scene, how to identify low risk strategies for creating a venue, and how to get local elected officials involved in the process.
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Strong Towns’s own Kea Wilson discusses what her time as a bookseller at Left Bank Books in St. Louis taught her about making local businesses a third place, including what building a third place actually looks like, how third places are more economically resilient, and how you can make your local business a third place.
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How do I pitch the idea of rezoning residential neighborhoods to allow limited commerce to my city council?
Read MoreCan a humble corner bookstore make your city wealthier and more resilient? These small businesses have surprising staying power—and in many ways are an indicator species of a strong neighborhood.
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Why all these new storefronts are sitting vacant.
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Is a desire for local character your jam? If so, fight for missing-middle commercial space in your neighborhood. Fight for the corner bar and the corner store. We need an approach that is much more flexible, more true to what humans want from cities, and messier.
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Small businesses are crucial to local economic health. Thriving small businesses create thriving communities, in a virtuous cycle.
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A pop-up music venue is making a big impact in Akron, Ohio.
Read MoreWhy all these new storefronts are sitting vacant.
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By taking these two simples steps, any town can create a thriving small business community.
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The elements that have made craft breweries successful in American small towns could also spell good news for other industries.
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How did beer turn the consolidation ship around and what can we learn from craft brewing's success?
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Once the "Rubber Capital of the World," Akron, Ohio is rebuilding its economy to focus on small local businesses rather than risky, large-scale gambles.
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Coffee shops are often the perfect spark to ignite downtown rebirth. Here's why.
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It's amazing what we can do when we think small.
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In the last 10 years, the number of breweries in America has increased sixfold.
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