When the Don Gibson Theatre reopened in 2009 in uptown Shelby, NC, it didn’t take long for locals and visitors to start filling the newly renovated, 400 seat auditorium. Named after the hometown country music hero, Don Gibson, the fully updated theatre emphasizes the city’s deep musical heritage and … Read more

“Green Infrastructure” — What is it? Who is responsible for it? How do you pay for it? Difficult questions and ones that many including our staff at the at the Environmental Finance Center are seeking answers to. There appears to be a growing trend in some communities to recognize and support infra … Read more

Bulldogs, Quakers, Titans, Lions, Spartans, Panthers, a Phoenix, even Belles. Guilford County is home to a menagerie of mascots representing various institutions of higher education, but only one, the aptly named Phoenix belonging to Elon University, has a physical presence in downtown Greensboro. W … Read more

Government-backed energy efficiency programs provide opportunities for all types of buildings to reduce their electricity consumption and save money—from single family residences and affordable housing facilities to small businesses and industrial plants.  These same energy improvements also have po … Read more

In a chapter from Investing in What Works for America’s Communities, Brookings Institution senior fellow and research director Alan Berube questions whether community development still has a role in in addressing poverty in the U.S — arguing that the changing face of poverty since community develop … Read more

The Development Finance Initiative (DFI) and the Kenan Institute at UNC have teamed up to prepare a comprehensive housing assessment for the City of Kinston. The housing assessment, which combines public records with qualitative data collected through an on-the-ground property survey, will provide C … Read more

The USDA and the Department of Energy are helping rural communities  “…create jobs, grow markets for American-made products, reduce energy bills for families and businesses and make the American economy more competitive” by providing funding to promote energy efficiency. The USDA provides loan gua … Read more

The historic theater on Main Street sat empty for thirty years. Once the central gathering place and crown jewel of Main Street, the property collected cobwebs as town leaders waited for a private developer to come along with a plan to bring the building back into productive use. Eventually, public … Read more

In 1971 in South Korea, a public official presented a draft enforcement decree for the Pollution Prevention Law to the country’s cabinet.  The minister of the Economic Planning Board, also vice prime minister at the time, was not impressed, first calling the official an “idiot” and then further bera … Read more

The African American Music Trail (AAMT), a heritage trail network commemorating the rich arts and cultural history of eight eastern North Carolina counties, is underway in Kinston, North Carolina (NC). Kinston, the Lenoir County seat, will serve as the trailhead for the AAMT, which is a collaborativ … Read more