Ednium: The Alumni Collective的动态

Downtown is BACK! “A new study of more than 60 downtowns across the U.S. and Canada places downtown Minneapolis at the top of the pack when it comes to an increase in visitors over the past year…A previous Downtown Recovery study in mid-2023 by the University of Toronto’s School of Cities determined that downtown Minneapolis was third to last in foot traffic recovery compared to the same period in 2019.” This type of progress doesn’t happen by accident, but is the result of hard work by small businesses, city leaders, local organizations, and community organizers. But most importantly this type of progress is the result on Minnesotans showing up and investing their time, money, and energy in the small businesses and local events at the forefront of downtown’s resurgence. Keep up the good work, Minnesota! #ShopLocal #ReadLocal #VoteLocal

**GARY - THE MAGIC CITY** The vision of Gary, Indiana was conceptualized and manifested at the turn of the 20th Century by influential business moguls J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab, Andrew Carnegie, and Elbert Gary in a boardroom in New York City ?? Their objective? Building a centrally located steel conglomerate and city ?? with access to fresh water ??rail ?? and proximity to Chicago ?? Gary is also strategically located within 100 miles of prestigious institutions like Notre Dame, Purdue, University of Chicago, and Northwestern ??. Established in 1906, Gary rapidly grew into a city of greater than 100,000 people by 1930, becoming the nation's youngest major city! Considering the astounding growth, Gary earned the moniker, "The Magic City" ??. Gary's original plat was modeled after Manhattan, its cardinal thoroughfares were named Broadway Avenue (North-South) and 5th Avenue (East-West) the intersection of these thoroughfares marks the epicenter of our Downtown. By the 1950s, Gary grew to become Indiana's 2nd largest city; Whose influence served as a powerhouse to the State’s economy and tax base, 'The Center of Industry'. Despite its current real and perceived challenges, Gary's original ingredients for success remain intact even after 114 years other assets developed overtime include an international airport and coast to coast interstate highways corridors. We are confidently aware that we still have the magic and potential to serve as a economic powerhouse for the Nation. Let's celebrate Gary's Boom Town history and it's potential for a bright and booming future! ??? #GaryIndiana #HistoryMatters #BrightFuture #GreaterGary #NorthwestIndiana #MeltonMomentum

Discover the key findings from our comprehensive analysis comparing Morgantown to Blacksburg, Charlottesville, and Asheville. Learn about the business opportunities and how we can foster economic growth in our downtown area. Read the full report below. #EconomicDevelopment #Morgantown #BusinessOpportunities #WestVirginia

Remember those maps from a couple of weeks ago? We just released our latest report on ?????????????????????? ???????????????? ?????????????????????????? in downtown Morgantown, West Virginia. At the request of the City of Morgantown, the Morgantown Area Partnership, and Main Street Morgantown. We compared our downtown with Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina. The findings are useful for attracting and incentivizing the types of businesses lacking downtown or meeting demand that outpaces capacity. Most of all, we hope the report helps spur community conversation and involvement in what downtown should be moving forward. See the report for specifics, limitations, and cautions. The report especially finds the tension between catering to residents and attracting visitors in most rural areas - a common thread in the economic, social, and political transition underway in West Virginia and throughout Appalachia. The report also delineates when common rhetoric around aspirational peers is less useful for local strategizing. Thanks to WVU Rockefeller Institute for Policy Research's Oreoluwa (Ore) Runsewe for leading this project and to West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts & Sciences for its never-ending support of our local communities. #publicpolicy #economicdevelopment #businessincentives #localgovt #Morgantown #WestVirginia #Appalachia #economictransition #tourism https://lnkd.in/d-Tn77kc

"Durham is perhaps best known as the northern tip of North Carolina’s prestigious “research triangle,” a tri-city area home to some of the nation’s most prestigious research universities. (The other two tips of the triangle are neighboring Chapel Hill and Raleigh.) Durham, for its part, boasts Duke University and the historically Black college North Carolina Central University — both of which recently made Money’s list of best colleges. For most cities, that would be the whole story. But Durham is no one-trick pony. For starters, Durham’s economy is one to envy. Jobs are expected to grow 6% in the coming years, soundly above the national average. The city’s unemployment rate is also notably lower than North Carolina’s as a whole. The city is also a proud hub for Black entrepreneurs, with a long history of successful Black-owned enterprises. Mechanics and Farmers (M&F) Bank, which played a pivotal role in helping build Black wealth in the early 1900s when other banks refused service to Black locals, still operates today out of a stunning historic building on Parrish Street. If you’re more interested in a different type of green — nature, that is — Durham’s got more than 1,600 acres of parklands, a 22-mile biking and walking trail, two city lakes, easy access to the multi-state East Coast Greenway and the gargantuan Duke Forest. (Full disclosure: North Carolina is one of a handful of states where the other other type of green is still illegal.) Urbanites will feel at home, too. A sizable number of breweries have sprouted up downtown. Thanks to legendary staples such as The Chicken Hut and the Backyard BBQ Pit, Durham is also garnering a national reputation as a soul-food and barbecue paradise. At the American Tobacco Campus, a stunningly revitalized tobacco-factory complex, there’s no shortage of other restaurants, shops, markets and events to peruse. Now here’s the best part: All of these perks come at a fraction of the price of Durham’s research-city sisters. While housing costs have gone up across the board in North Carolina, both rent and median home prices in Durham tend to be more affordable than Raleigh and Chapel Hill." #bullcity #bullcitync #bestofthetriangle #keepitdirtydurham #strongtowns #durm #bestplacestolive

Check out my latest op-Ed in the The The Dallas Morning News where I highlight community, economic, and real estate development challenges and opportunities connected to I-345 as well as potential impacts to the City of Dallas. This vital link between Dallas area business and economic centers and residents is under threat for removal, but the businesses and people that would be the most impacted are not centered in the discourse. Many area employers and other stakeholders would bear impacts by such a decision: Oak Cliff Chamber Of Commerce, For Oak Cliff Dallas College, Dallas Love Field Airport, Downtown Dallas, Inc., Baylor University Medical Center, Deep Ellum Foundation, Dallas’ logistics industry, and job centers as far removed as City of Plano and City of Richardson Texas, as well as City of Mesquite, The City of Balch Springs, City of Lancaster, TX, City of DeSoto, CITY OF DUNCANVILLE, City of Cedar Hill, City of Hutchins, TX, City of Wilmer, and other cities and stakeholders. This is a much broader and deeper conversation that involves access to opportunity, economic development, infrastructure, and public policy ecosystems that deserve significant and thoughtful deliberation and leadership. #dallas #economicdevelopment #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #equitabledevelopment

I was reading this article this morning by Greg Heinz from Crain's Chicago Business about Mayor Johnson's first year in office. Normally, I try to stay away from this as this is above my pay grade to comment. However, I felt the need to opine on this topic to be helpful. In my opinion, I think the Mayor has two directions for the next three years: to be a firefighter or developer. So, what do I mean? Every Mayor in some form or fashion is faced with unpredictable and unprecedented crisis. This was on full display during the Lightfoot's Administration with COVID-19, civil unrest, and the humanitarian crisis. Emanuel and Lightfoot had to deal with a Trump Presidency...enough said, and Daley had the 2008 Recession fallout. A firefighter puts out fires as they occur. If Mayor Johnson is not careful, he will be spending most of his time putting out fires that he did not start and it will drown out his agenda. Plus, it will be about his personality and how he reacted/responded rather than his results. So, what do I mean by a developer. Not in a real estate sense but as a visionary that lays out the plan and makes it a reality for the City. When Emanuel stated he wanted Chicago to be a "Global City", the public disregarded his aggressive personality as he laid out what that meant for the City by improving our transit from rail modernization projects to the O'Hare Airport expansion to making Olive Harvey Community College the transportation, distribution, and logistics hub. The initiative was felt across the City. The same could be said about Lightfoot with Invest South/West Initiative (ISW), Google, and the casino. Mayor Johnson must create his own narrative rather than it being dictated by crisis or pressure from various groups. His signature slogan of "Building a Better, Stronger, and Safer Chicago" will need to materialize in a way that is similar to Emanuel and Lightfoot so that it becomes real to Chicago. Maybe one way to materialize Mayor Johnson's slogan is by making Chicago the leading City by having the fastest growing population, tourism, jobs, etc by focusing on innovative projects throughout the City... An under-represented project...and yes I will always bring it back to Chicago's far south side, it's my job...is touting this $4 billion investment of the Red Line Extension that will transform the area creating thousands of jobs and economic development opportunities. Another is how do we make the entire lakefront a global attraction and accessible to all Chicago. Could we have Elon Musk design a magnetic monorail system that follows DuSable Lakeshore Drive from Lincoln Park to Pullman. What role can the Chicago Park District play in ensuring Chicago has the facility to be competitive to host events and earning the revenue rather than gifting it to the Bears. Or becoming the ETOD-n-Chief by prioritizing sustainable ETOD projects throughout the City. Or making significant investments in becoming the first major "Urban 20-Minute City.

Check out this new series in Buffalo Business First - Buffalo Unlocked - that takes a look at the WNY region, what's working and what NEEDS work!

The recent Kresge Weekly Newsletter is a special edition highlighting the work of our grantees in Fresno, California. #Fresno is the fifth-largest city in California and is among the largest urban centers in the U.S. It is one of three cities outside of Detroit where the foundation engages in deep, concentrated investing with a goal of comprehensive, long-term change in place. ? "Recognizing Fresno’s importance and the opportunity to support the city’s visionary leadership, Kresge has invested more than $12 million in Fresno-based organizations through 41 grants and social investments since 2018. We’re supporting those working to expand equity and opportunity through community and economic development, social determinants of health, post-secondary educational attainment and climate mitigation and adaptation," wrote American Cities Program Managing Director Chantel Rush Tebbe.? ? Check out the newsletter and the work of our partners: https://bit.ly/4bZRf23 ? Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce CEO: Fresno is at a pivotal moment in its economic journey (https://bit.ly/3IhWvAv) ? How Fresno Building Healthy Communities and partners like Live Again Fresno are centering people to transform neighborhoods (https://bit.ly/434FoM3) ? Kresge, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability celebrate 10 years of partnership with a goal of improving life outcomes in Fresno (https://bit.ly/49xcgQh) ? Fresno CDCs work to support equitable housing, wealth-building opportunities (https://bit.ly/3T3Fm2x) ? A vision for healthy food in southwest Fresno: Partnership between Fresno Metro Ministry & St. Rest Baptist Church leads to St. Rest + Food Share Hub (https://bit.ly/3Op1XTJ) ? Case study outlines 2022 investment to Fresno Housing Authority (https://bit.ly/3q7ptdG)

As we reflect on Kansas City's vibrant history, it's incredible to see how pivotal moments have shaped our city's unique character. From groundbreaking innovations to cultural milestones, each event has contributed to the thriving city we call HOME. The Birth of Jazz: Kansas City's rich jazz heritage began in the 1920s, establishing the city as a hub for this iconic music genre. The 18th and Vine District became a legendary hotspot where jazz legends like Charlie Parker and Count Basie rose to fame. Sporting Triumphs: The city’s sports culture has seen historic victories, such as the Kansas City Royals' World Series wins in 1985 and 2015, and the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl triumphs in 1970, 2020 and now BACK TO BACK in 2023 and 2024. These achievements have united our community and fostered a spirit of pride and resilience. Architectural Marvels: Landmarks like the Country Club Plaza, designed in 1922, have not only enhanced our cityscape but also attracted millions of visitors, making it a beloved shopping and cultural destination. Civil Rights Advancements: Kansas City played a significant role in the civil rights movement, with local leaders and activists pushing for equality and justice, leaving an indelible mark on our societal progress. Economic Growth: The establishment of major corporations and the revitalization of urban areas have driven economic prosperity, creating opportunities and shaping Kansas City's future. Each of these moments, and many more, have woven together the rich tapestry of Kansas City's history. Let’s continue to celebrate and build upon the legacy of this extraordinary city.