Small-scale manufacturers: creating good jobs, great products, and vibrant neighborhoods

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Rickshaw Bagworks makes and sells cycling-inspired bags in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. Photo by Richard Masoner via Flickr.

Small-scale manufacturers like woodworkers, steel fabricators, hardware prototypers, microbrewers, and coffee roasters with regional distribution have emerged as a significant force in today’s urban economy. For many cities and neighborhoods suffering the loss of skilled-labor employers, this emerging, city-oriented industrial sector offers a powerful revitalization tool that can connect residents to good paying jobs and economic opportunity in the neighborhoods they call home.

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What the election showed me

This election season was tumultuous and divisive. For me, as president of an organization working to improve Americans’ lives by building better communities, it has brought a mixture of uncertainty, alarm, and hope. First, the uncertainty. With regard to economic development, tax policy, housing, infrastructure, and other federal programs that affect communities, the policies of … Continued

Advocacy

Watch the recorded webinar on Allentown, PA development opportunities

  Thank you to everyone who joined this week’s LOCUS Webinar, Building the Next Walkable Places in Allentown, on Monday, November 14, 2016. During Monday’s webinar, Allentown leaders discussed the city’s incredible development potential, amazing transformation, and answered participant’s questions about the city’s development opportunities. Whether you missed this week’s presentation or want to watch … Continued

LOCUS

New ideas for a historic district in Kansas City, MO

The River Market neighborhood has experienced exponential growth in the last five years that has transformed the former warehouse district into a walkable, bustling neighborhood. Kansas City needed to come up with a long-term parking strategy that encourages, rather than stifles, future ongoing development in the area.

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Complete Streets News — October 2016

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Last chance to register for Street Lights conference — The Street Lights: Illuminating Implementation and Equity in Complete Streets conference is just around the corner. As we deep dive into all aspects of Complete Streets, will you be a part of the conversation? Register today. Taking place on November 15, 2016 in Sacramento, CA, Street Lights will be a chance for transportation planners and engineers, community, equity, and health advocates, local officials, and Complete Streets practitioners to share ideas, brainstorm solutions, and celebrate the success of the Complete Streets movement nationwide.

Complete Streets