As local governments begin to assume a larger role in reducing their community’s carbon footprint, more and more are finding a new reason for community engagement: promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy projects on residential and commercial properties. There are many options for program i … Read more

Will Lambe is the Director of the Community & Economic Development Program and the Community-Campus Partnership. Following the Institute for Emerging Issues Forum on Creativity (discussed in a previous post), we have had several inquiries about the role of arts in economic development, especiall … Read more

Glenn Barnes is a project director with the Environmental Finance Center based at the UNC School of Government. In January, Lisa Stifler wrote in this blog about how some rural counties are using landfill gas projects to spur community and economic development.  In particular, Lisa highlighted the E … Read more

[2011 UPDATE: For more detail on this topic, see the following 2011 book: Housing Codes for Repair and Maintenance: Using the General Police Power and Minimum Housing Statutes to Prevent Dwelling Deterioration] An earlier post on minimum housing ordinances (MHOs) explained how MHOs can be employed b … Read more

Lisa Stifler is a Research Associate with the Community & Economic Development Program. Historically, rural communities throughout the country and this state have lagged behind urban areas when it comes to rural infrastructure, whether power, paved roads, water and sewer, phone lines, mobile pho … Read more

Lisa Stifler is a Research Associate with the Community & Economic Development Program. A previous post discussed preserving working waterfronts as an economic development tactic.  In a similar vein, preserving working farmland can also be an important community and economic development tactic f … Read more

Across the country, organizations are looking inside to identify ways that they can improve their impact on the environment. Some are taking a formal approach: conducting inventories, hiring sustainability coordinators and adopting green building policies. Others are just trying to do the right thin … Read more

[2011 UPDATE: For more detail on this topic, see the following 2011 book: Housing Codes for Repair and Maintenance: Using the General Police Power and Minimum Housing Statutes to Prevent Dwelling Deterioration] North Carolina experienced a record number of foreclosures in 2008. Then, in 2009, even m … Read more

Lisa Stifler is a Research Associate with the Community & Economic Development Program. Although rural areas are commonly considered to have lower housing costs than suburban and metropolitan areas, housing in rural communities is nonetheless a concern for many individuals, families, and communi … Read more

Lisa Stifler is a Research Associate with the Community & Economic Development Program. A number of rural counties throughout North Carolina have used local environmental problems and concerns to spur economic development.   In response to closed landfills, escaping methane gas from the landfill … Read more