A few months ago, we featured a story about how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has created a $100 million impact investing initiative redirecting funds into investment products that will not only provide monetary return, but support affordable housing, small businesses, infrastructure projects, and health and educational facilities. New York City, Washington, D.C. and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts all have similar initiatives, albeit at different scales. Read More

Today, young and talented professionals are moving to urban areas to take advantage of the job opportunities that exist. They’re investing in urban real estate and neighborhood commercial corridors are coming back to life. Yet, the opportunity available in cities today looks dramatically different than it did in the 1960s and 70s, when inner city crime was rampant, racial tensions were high and poverty was on the rise. Read More

A study by the Economic Policy Institute released in July 2012 highlighted what St. Paul policymakers already knew too well: the region faced a massive racial disparity in unemployment rates. Approximately five percent of white residents in the metropolitan region were unemployed, versus a staggering 18 percent of black residents. In order for St. Paul and all of its residents to truly thrive in the years to come, a radical intervention was required. Read More

In 2016, Austin, Texas was named by CNBC as the number one place in America to start a business. While starting a business in a location such as Silicon Valley typically relies on individual entrepreneurs, venture capital, and large risks, Austin has taken this formula and turned it into a neighborhood activity. Read More

The influx of new residents, accompanied by a growing number of restaurants, coffee shops, retail outlets, and other amenities to serve them, has transformed many urban neighborhoods over the past decade. A walk through any low-income, inner city neighborhood, however, often reveals a different reality. While many of these neighborhoods have also grown in population, the mix and number of shops serving local consumers seem to differ from other parts of the city. Read More