If jobs won’t bring people downtown to work, what will?
The economies of six big cities took a hit as workers went remote or moved to areas with lower costs of living. But by focusing on downtown housing and leaning into already strong local industries, municipal leaders may be able to reverse the trend.
CHIPS Act implementation at risk as November shutdown looms
The shutdown would be “massively disruptive” for ongoing efforts to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday.
Do opportunity zones work?
The jury is still out. But recent research has provided new insights into the tax incentive meant to lure investment to distressed areas.
Traditional downtowns are dead or dying in many US cities—what’s next for these zones?
COMMENTARY | Developers have overbuilt office and commercial space in US cities for decades. Now, in the wake of pandemic shutdowns, many downtowns face hard choices about the future.
A group of US governors promises to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030
And they want to put at least 40 percent of them in disadvantaged communities.
County’s advanced mapping tool supports development decisions
Henry County, Georgia, used it to decide where freight facilities should go. But the computer-based tool could be repurposed to help other communities address their hot-button issues.
Are tax incentives boons or boondoggles?
Though there’s lots of evidence that the economic development tool may not be effective, it is still in wide use. Fortunately, there are ways to control the potential waste of taxpayer dollars.
Can the future of passenger rail be found between Miami and Orlando?
The debut of Brightline service linking Miami to the central Florida tourist mecca is giving rail advocates hope that passenger rail will gain popularity elsewhere, too.
‘Who’s going to work there?’: Lawmakers grapple with labor shortages
Affordable housing, reliable child care and available mental health services could be the key for state and local governments desperate to fill vacant job positions in their communities. Lawmakers are finding ways to meet workers' needs through legislation and funding.
Analysis: A new approach to defining persistent poverty
COMMENTARY | Switching from using counties to census tracts in order to define persistent poverty may hurt rural communities and their chances when competing for federal dollars.
What happens when high-earners leave cities, taking their spending power with them?
Urban-to-rural migration can shrink a municipality’s tax base, reduce property values and slow new business development, a new report says. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.
San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city
COMMENTARY | Post-pandemic pressures are compounding stresses cities were already facing, leading to the hollowing out of some American cities.
Unless states act soon, the ‘AI rich’ will ‘only get richer’
The industry is currently concentrated in only a handful of places in the U.S. States can change that.
The Whole-Home Repairs program is remaking the housing landscape
The landmark initiative is helping Pennsylvanians with costly fixes.
‘Loved to death:’ New report says tourism that drives the state’s economy can hurt local cities
When droves of tourists arrive to small communities, the demand for housing, amenities and resources strains the pockets of state and local governments.
One small step for man, one giant leap for Pittsburgh
Steel city startups are set to send new tech to the moon. But Pittsburgh’s galactic ambition doesn’t end there. Local and state officials want to play a key part in the future of America’s space exploration.
Child care costs would fall for low-income families under new rule in government program
The Biden administration plans to strengthen the Child Care & Development Block Grant with easier access and copayment caps for families, along with more payment stability for child care providers.
Will the new wave of place-based policy leave persistently poor areas behind?
COMMENTARY | As the country’s ultimate left-behind places, these communities persist indefinitely in the shadow of growth and prosperity. A more accurate measurement would change that and lead to better policies.
Building infrastructure using inclusive planning
COMMENTARY | As billions of dollars flow to state and local governments under the infrastructure bill, public officials are responsible for using it to create a fairer economy.
Who wants to live in Tulsa? Turns out, a lot of people.
A relocation incentive program that was fodder for a lot of jokes is thriving, and could be an important economic development tool for other cities.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Help us tailor content specifically for you: