Category: Placemaking
CED through Local and Regional Food Systems: The Latest Resources
In the past year, activity around local food systems increased dramatically. Government has been involved in supporting food systems for decades, but primarily through programs adopted at the federal level to both promote food production and protect the health of consumers. But having government wor … Continued
Revisiting the Community Land Trust: An Academic Literature Review
Housing costs and supply are dominating the news at the moment. Housing is the highest monthly bill typical Americans face, reaching an average of $1674 a month in 2021. Housing prices have increased far faster than incomes (Miller 2015), making affordable homeownership inaccessible for many aspiri … Continued
CED and Affordable Housing: How Does Manufactured Housing Fit In?
This headline from last week would naturally grab the attention of any CED professional: “Affordable mobile homes are disappearing in Asheville; code change could bring some back.” Housing is a basic issue for anyone interested in CED. Behind the headline are a host of issues that both foster hope i … Continued
What Makes Rural Art Parks Successful? Recommendations for CED Art Lovers
Using the arts as a community economic development (CED) strategy usually brings to mind urban settings. Recent examples include Cary, NC’s shimmer field featured this past winter and magical stick sculptures opened this spring. But over two million people currently live in rural North Carolina. … Continued
Local Government Support for Privately Owned Affordable Housing
By most accounts, the need for affordable housing across North Carolina is massive. According to 2019 census data, over a million North Carolina households are “cost burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Almost half of those are “severely cost burdened,” meaning the … Continued
Student Corner: Community Gardens: Documenting Ordinances in Major US Urban Areas
As cities look to create inclusive spaces for community and economic development, urban farming is an inventive potential for green growth. These green spaces promote regeneration within neighborhoods, produce fresh produce in food deserts, and provide a community for historically disenfranchised c … Continued
What we know about COVID’s impact on affordable housing – so far
The economic fallout from COVID-19 magnified many of the existing challenges faced by North Carolina communities such as access to open space or the capacity of the local health care systems. Among these issues, the crisis highlighted how stable and affordable housing is essential to the well-being … Continued
Evidence to Support CED programs: The Growing Talk About RCTs
Whether you work in community or economic development, there has always been pressure to measure your success. CED professionals are very familiar with having to explain what type of impact they hope to have with their initiatives. It is even harder to document success. Evidence-based decision-maki … Continued
Crowdfunding for Historic Redevelopment
Crowdfunding or the act of raising investment dollars locally within a community can be traced in North Carolina to the early 20th century and potentially even earlier. Many of our community’s most iconic buildings were developed with financing provided by local residents. In early 1921, a committee … Continued
Student Corner: Community Ownership as a Tool for Preservation and Wealth Creation
Real estate ownership is one of the primary vehicles for wealth creation in the United States, and consequently one of the core drivers of the racial wealth gap after generations of disinvestment in and displacement of BIPOC communities. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution and author … Continued