The so called triple bottom line (TBL) in economic development calls for promoting growth in ways that are environmentally sustainable and that yield positive social returns.  (See Portland State University’s Initiative on Triple Bottom Line Development.)  The TBL framework takes into account the ec … Read more

“I’m … proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children.” – POTUS in 2013 State of the Union  Prompted by the flooding brough … Read more

Interested in innovation, community development, and education? The US Environmental Protection Agency seems to receive a lot of attention these days for their regulatory role, but they also play an important role in research with numerous programs supporting investigation into new ways of protectin … 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

There are quite a few energy efficiency projects that pay themselves back in energy savings in a matter of years, sometimes months.  According to my freshman college environmental studies professor, these projects are better than a free lunch;  they’re “a lunch that you’re paid to eat.” Yet, if a pr … Read more

Kendra Jensen is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration. She is currently working with the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments through the Carolina Economic Revitalization Corps (CERC). Of the $98,000,000 available for the Sustainable Communities Regional … Read more

Matt Dudek is a graduate student in the UNC Department of City and Regional Planning, the School of Government, and a CERC intern working with the Cape Fear Council of Governments. Two weeks ago I wrote about the BEST STEP cluster in Bolton, East Arcadia, and Sandyfield (https://ced.sog.unc.edu/?p=1 … Read more

Rick Morse is a School of Government faculty member. By now most people have at least heard of the “local foods” movement. Thanks to Michael Pollan and his compatriots, terms like “locavore” and “foodshed” have made their way into our lexicon. The idea here is to create “more locally based, self-rel … Read more

Tyler Mulligan is a School of Government faculty member. Have leaders in your community been using words like “green economy” and “green jobs?” What role can a local government play in enhancing the local green economy and creating some green jobs? This post explores one possible role: local governm … Read more