Today, Smart Growth America announced the selection of six communities that will receive technical assistance in using small-scale manufacturing as a strategy to create economic opportunity, boost the prospects of Main Street, and build great places. This assistance is made possible through funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
The First & Main coalition of local elected leaders sent a letter this week to Congress and the Trump administration urging them not to cut or eliminate programs upon which these local communities rely.
With free technical assistance from SGA on the issue available right now, it’s a good time to talk about what small-scale manufacturing is and how it can be a powerful part of the recipe for building great downtowns and neighborhoods in communities of nearly any size.
The Opportunity Zones program is a brand new federal program aimed at encouraging long-term, private capital investment in America’s low-income urban and rural communities with new tax incentives. Smart Growth America is working to ensure that it helps to restore and revitalize America’s lowest-income communities in a just and equitable way.
Small-scale manufacturing can be a powerful tool to revitalize downtowns of all sizes. Starting next week, Smart Growth America will again be offering another round of free technical assistance for communities interested in using this strategy to create economic opportunity and build great places. Applications open on June 5.
Cities of all sizes are facing a shortage of housing for their poorest, most vulnerable residents. And a smaller set of booming cities are becoming completely unaffordable to even the middle class. To ensure enough attainable housing is built to satisfy demand, particularly as new transit service comes to an area and raises land values, such housing has to be planned for and spread out as much as possible.
Expanding broadband access can help communities revitalize their downtowns and attract and retain a new generation of works. But beginning the process can be daunting, particularly for smaller communities with limited resources. This webinar will cover action steps for broadband investment, informed by our work with communities across the country.
With the right investments in reliable broadband, communities can revitalize their downtowns and attract younger Americans that can bring their existing businesses and remote jobs with them. Listen to this webinar to hear about how Zanesville, OH and Eastport, ME are retooling their towns for a 21st century economy.
Millinocket, Maine epitomizes the plight of many rural communities across the country that struggle as legacy industries or major employers that once helped sustain a place slow down or close altogether. Millinocket has found new hope in part by pairing improved broadband internet access with a new focus on downtown revitalization, giving the community the chance to take hold of their future and “actually build something” new.
Many rural communities in America have been struggling as the economy has changed dramatically over the last few decades, but some of these communities are evolving and finding new ways to adapt. This is a story of how one small mountain town in northeast Tennessee has found new economic opportunity by investing in reliable, high-speed broadband internet to catalyze new growth and development focused in their walkable, historic downtown.