It’s no secret that small businesses are the engine of the U.S. economy, typically making up 64 percent of net new private sector jobs in a given year. It turns out, that’s even more true when it comes to the economies of inner cities, according to a new report from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Read More

For the nonprofit hospital Bon Secours,  providing direct, low-cost medical care to residents is just one of many roles it plays as an anchor institution in Southwest Baltimore. Read More

With one-third of our nation’s minority poverty concentrated in our inner cities, and signs of economic insecurity and income inequality everywhere, it’s easy to understand the sense of hopelessness and abandonment that tens of millions feel and are expressing in the streets of America’s cities. Fortunately, there are transformative approaches that are based on the simple and now well-documented premise that our inner cities have distinct competitive advantages. Read More

This What Works for Cities case study highlights how the Nashville metro has formed a true public-private partnership across a 10-county region that has led to tremendous economic and population growth in each of the areas served over the past 25 years.  Read More

"Placemaking” is a new tool for the economic development toolbox. Read More