Tag: economy

Second Act for America’s Malls

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Laura here. There’s a good chance if we chatted in 2016, I brought up grain silos. It was a community development obsession I have, primarily because in Columbus, Ohio we have several unused or underused grain silos, that just look like they are begging to be a canvas for a public art project. (don’t worry grain silos, I’m still thinking about you).

But as the year changed, my obsession grew to a new underused and vacant space adorning the heartland as well as the rest of America: Malls.

Read on after the jump to see more about Malls and ways American’s are creatively reactivating them!  Continue reading →

Segregation Had to Be Invented

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The Atlantic published an article about the history of segregation in our cities titled Segregation Had to be Invented.

It is especially interesting to us for two reasons:

  1. Powerful people have retained their power by conning  white folks into being hateful towards people of color since the dawn of America.
  2. Sometimes it’s nice to remember that segregation was man made- because that means it can also be man-unmade. (right?)

 

Renewable Energy Good for the Economy

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We are fans of evidence based solutions, and thus research and analysis is an important factor of how we determine what policy solutions to support, and what neighborhood projects to invest our time, resources and funding.

A new study has been released titled, A Prospective Analysis of the Costs, Benefits and Impacts of U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standards.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analyzed state renewable energy portfolios to assess costs and benefits into the future. The study analyzed two scenarios, 1) if RPS’s remain unchanged from current status, and 2) if RPS expand in every state and have higher targets.

 

The findings are dramatic. The reduction of pollutants, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption in both scenarios are incredible. The savings in health and environmental benefits are promising and all of these outweigh the costs accrued through the RPS standards. Turns out, investing in solar is a good use of public dollars.

As this MidwestEnergyNews.com article headline states: Benefits of state renewable energy policies far outweigh costs. 

 

 

Preservation Key To Revitilzation

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162082David Brown, Chief Preservation Officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, writes about the use of Historic Preservation in community revitalization. His article focuses on Detroit, as America’s new community development test kitchen. The Detroit neighborhood, Jefferson- Chalmers,  recently earned a “National Treasure” distinction, which Brown speaks to a bit more here. It’s a great read and worth getting into if you live in a neighborhood with history (I bet you do).

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WMATA Proposed Cuts Worry Residents

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WMATA and it’s DC Metro have it tough. They are short  money, but need to continue operating expensive mass transit facilities. We get it. We have worked with non profits and government agencies all over. Shoe string budgets are not fun.

But we caution against moving forward with a plan like the one described in this Washington Post article by Martine Powers, The 20 stations Metro could close during off- peak hours to save money are mostly in communities of color

Of course, we have an idea to help with that budget shortfall. 

Give us a call, WMATA. 

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Two Speed Recovery: Detroit and Beyond

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The New York Times published a piece investigating the recovery of Detroit, outlining the two distinct worlds the city’s recovery has created and exacerbated. But this story isn’t exclusive to Detroit. As American cities bounce back from the recession, two very separate worlds are taking hold in cities all across the nation. Whether you’re in Washington, DC, San Francisco, or Columbus, Ohio it is clear that not everyone in our recovering cities are actually recovering.

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We Need an Inclusive Economy

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These are thbenefit-corporations-and-b-corps-the-latest-buzz-2e sort of things that make us proud to be a Benefit Corp.

“We need an inclusive economy. To create an inclusive economy requires that we prioritize, measure, and manage the diversity and inclusivenes of our businesses, our supply chains, our investments, and our B Corp community.

In short, we must lead on inclusion to be credible leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good.”

Read the full open letter here.