Economic Development

The Other Digital Divide

Jobs using technology are more common in some parts of the country than in others, according to a recent study. The divide is leading to a widening wage and skills gap.

  • By Kery Murakami

How to Make Office-to-Housing Conversions Work

A panel of experts looked at what it would take to revitalize downtowns by turning offices into homes. They coalesced around five things cities need to do to succeed.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

How Data Insights Can Solve Geographic Inequity and Build Regional Economies

The Commerce Department’s Regional Economic Research Initiative will provide accessible data tools, visualizations and expert services to help federal, state, local and tribal decision-makers better understand what kind of projects will promote growth.

  • By Susan Miller

The CHIPS Act Challenge for State and Local Governments

The federal government has a powerful policy vision for the development of a vibrant U.S. semiconductor industry. How those visions play out is of intense interest.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

How to Build a Passenger Rail Network from Scratch

Tennessee wants to expand rail in the state. Routes could be a critical link in a national network built with federal money, but right now service is minimal.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

We’re Back! Our Grand Return to Live Events

Route Fifty and GCN will hit the road with a new free event series to explore how cities across the country are building their future today.

Feds Seek Input on How to Create Semiconductor Hubs

The Commerce Department wants stakeholders’ “best ideas” for new research and manufacturing hubs for computer chips that could transform communities nationwide.

  • By Kery Murakami

Utah Set to Adopt a New State Flag

If the governor signs the bill, the state will join a wave of city and state flag redesigns across the nation and cap a process four years in the making.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Nurturing Entrepreneurship Boosts Economic Growth

COMMENTARY | States should direct more money from incentives to small businesses and entrepreneurs and less to attracting large companies.

  • By Sam Funchess and Lisa Hazlett

How Cities and Counties Are Spending Their ARPA Funds

While the largest share of the Covid stimulus money is going to government operations and housing, the remaining funds are being used to address a region’s biggest challenges.

  • By Kery Murakami

Feds to Hand Out $39B to Chip Makers in Workforce Development Subsidies

To access the funding, companies will not only need to show how they plan to train and recruit workers, but also how they will provide child care.

  • By Kery Murakami

State & Local Roundup: Offshore Wind Push Expands to the Gulf of Mexico

Plus: The mayors of Chicago and New Orleans could lose their jobs; an “innovative” housing plan is defunded; Boston struggles to recruit transit chief; “right to repair” bills proliferate; and more news you can use from around the country.

  • By Daniel C. Vock, Molly Bolan and Elizabeth Daigneau
Featured eBooks
Road and Transit Infrastructure Trends
Federal Recovery Funds at the State and Local Level
Infrastructure at a Turning Point

The Worker Shortage Is Real. Could Tech Help Governors Close Gaps?

Business leaders pointed to high-tech job training and tools like artificial intelligence as possible solutions to the historic shortage of workers.

  • By Kery Murakami

Kansas City Hopes Its New ‘Inclusive’ Terminal Will Bring More Flights and Visitors

The old terminal in Missouri’s largest city lacked convenient bathrooms, food options and security. The $1.5 billion replacement fixes many of those problems.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Why Treasury Was Slow to Expand a Key Small Business Program

Pandemic relief legislation boosted funding for the initiative to $10 billion from $1.5 billion. A new watchdog report looks at the reasons the department had delays getting the money to states.

  • By Kery Murakami

5 Reasons Your Community Should Create More Green Spaces

COMMENTARY | A healthy community’s infrastructure isn’t only limited to roads, schools, and bridges. Investing in nature-centered spaces such as parks can contribute significantly to the community’s health and economy.

  • By Patrick Sipp

State & Local Roundup: Cranking Up Workforce Development Programs

Plus: A governor moves to rein in remote work. City workers go on strike. A semiconductor factory announcement. And more news you can use from across the country.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Wind Farms Deliver Economic Jolt to Rural Middle America

Wind farms boosted seven of 10 counties with the nation’s largest economic output gains.

  • By Tim Henderson

Relocation Programs Continue to Grow in Numbers in Rural America

By one count, more than 50 rural communities offer some sort of incentive to entice new residents.

  • By Kristi Eaton, The Daily Yonder

Communities are Rethinking Their Push for Data Centers

More governments are looking into the environmental effects of data centers on neighborhoods.

  • By Susan Miller

Ford Plant Halted in Virginia Over Concerns About China

Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters that his administration “felt that the right thing to do was to not recruit Ford as a front for China to America.”

  • By Sarah Vogelsong, Virginia Mercury