“There was this hidden economy already chugging along that no one had capitalized on.” Those words were like lightning bolts on the phone. I was talking to my client in Columbia, MO (The Business Loop – a community improvement district), and all of a sudden Carrie (the exec) said it about our work to bring small-scale manufacturing businesses into the community development project.

Too many downtowns, or at least the decision makers who represent downtowns, think that the one thing that will bring them back from vacancy and neglect is an H&M. Let that sink in a sec.

My mother’s birthday is today. She would have been 79 years old. She died just over a year ago. In honor of my mother’s birthday and the RC anniversary, here are a few lessons from my mother that guide my days, my work, and honestly, my life. I hope they help you too - with your community, your work, and your life.

Commercial displacement means that as new development and investment comes in, legacy businesses get kicked out. But do we have a responsibility to address it like we take on residential displacement?

Everyone wants a busy main street with packed stores and lots of shoppers strolling the sidewalks. You can picture it, right? Shoppers strolling the street, people looking into store windows and running into neighbors, visitors marveling at the beauty of main street.

People are talking about downtown and reinvestment all the time now. But are they getting anywhere? Are they making places that include everyone in the economy? Are they building a place with a resilient economy and more good paying jobs?

Etsy and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth announced this week the 2019 recipients of the Etsy Maker Cities grant program. Recast City is thrilled to be part of the Etsy team and to provide the recipients with the Recast City Masterclass.

Transforming an appliance warehouse into a combination co-work space, performance venue, art gallery, and cafe takes more than just construction chops. It takes vision, hard work, and a deep and personal belief that this place matters.

Redevelopment means bringing a neighborhood back to life. And it’s hard to do. Really hard. When your Main Street or downtown is struggling, the idea of ever becoming a thriving place again can seem like a completely insurmountable challenge. But you can do it.

Every Saturday morning, the Cherry Street neighborhood in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma fills with a rainbow of flowers and produce, the smell of freshly baked bread and roasted coffee, and the sound of neighbors and families chatting. The neighborhood wasn’t always this thriving, though.

The economy is much different today than it was 50 years ago. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it based on some communities’ approach to economic development.

Tech companies are dazzling. Especially if you’re working on economic development in a small or mid-sized city. Yet not every city in the country should start by trying to be a tech hub. Your city probably has something more unique—and more valuable—to contribute. And that is the place to start.

You don’t have to be an expert to know that the retail industry is changing and it’s changing fast. Commerce is moving more and more online. Large anchor stores are closing. Distant malls are shuttered. Big box retail is shrinking. And property owners are struggling to fill storefronts in many places across the country.

Tourism is an economic cornerstone in many communities. It can attract visitors from across the country or the world, and serve as a major industry and employer. If tourism’s the only game in town, however, it can create problems that will be familiar to almost any tourist community.

Booming real estate values is a problem many cities wish they had. But ask any local leader experiencing a boom and they will tell you: it brings on whole new problems. The most commonly known one is that housing becomes unaffordable. What’s less commonly discussed is that commercial space becomes unaffordable too.

For every town in the midst of a real estate boom, there is a town close by that gets overlooked. This is the place without much going on. It’s the town with sparsely filled sidewalks and a few boarded-up storefronts, that some might think of as a little unsafe because of how empty it feels.

There’s probably not a single economic development plan in existence that lists “Have a bunch of vacant properties” in its recommendations for economic success. But every municipality in the country has vacant or even abandoned properties to deal with, and will need to address them in order to fully succeed.

Discovering Your City's Maker Economy, a new guide from National League of Cities (NLC), Etsy, Recast City and Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA) makes the case for local elected officials to focus on the role of maker and small-scale manufacturing businesses in their local economy. 

Check out our new report! This toolkit was developed in partnership with Smart Growth America and funded by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Smart community leaders recognize the importance of the small-scale manufacturing business sector but often still do not know where to find the community of owners.