Challenge Abilene prides itself on being a city of “firsts”: the first Texas city to create a sales-tax funded economic development effort in 1989, the first to create a downtown reinvestment zone, and the first community outside the state’s major metropolitan areas to receive a cultural district designation from the […]
Challenge Arlington is a city with enviable assets. It lies at the center of two major urban areas—Dallas and Fort Worth—providing access to excellent transportation infrastructure, a rising research university, and world-class tourist attractions. However, the community faces challenges associated with an aging building stock, limited greenfield sites, and competition
Challenge Despite a long-term decline in manufacturing employment at the national level, Buncombe County has captured top tier advanced manufacturing companies. The region is also home to the National Centers for Environmental Information and a dynamic community of entrepreneurs and innovative startups. Building on this success is a challenge for
Challenge Midland’s economy was thriving during the latter half of the last decade due to an ongoing energy-led expansion. Fueled by this expansion, the city added residents at a pace faster than almost any other city in the nation and greatly increased employment opportunities. This rapid growth, however, challenged city
Challenge Led by a resurgence in energy and petrochemicals, the greater Houston region experienced an extended period of unprecedented growth. With almost $20 billion in investment in new plants and facilities announced along the Gulf Coast, the region was in an enviable position. Employers, however, were concerned that the region
Challenge The City of Irving, Texas, operates in a highly competitive environment. Despite its many advantages—ranging from its transportation network to available workforce to prime sites—the city is in a constant battle for projects within the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Irving occupies an enviable position in the region but
Challenge Perhaps more than any other region in the country, Southern Nevada was devastated by the Great Recession. The region went from having some of the lowest rates of unemployment to the highest. Tens of thousands of families lost their homes as jobs dried up, credit tightened, and the regional
Challenge Renowned for its quality of life and creative industries, the Austin metropolitan area consistently lands on national “best of” lists and has become a magnet for both talent and companies. While the resulting economic boom has improved several prosperity measures for Travis County residents—resulting in declining poverty rates, rising
Challenge McAllen has long been an economic development leader in the Rio Grande Valley. The community has leveraged the combined strengths of northern Mexico and south Texas, driving both population and economic growth. The McAllen Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) effective and sustained domestic and international marketing efforts have resulted in
Challenge Recognizing that talent is a key driver of regional competitiveness, the Tampa Bay Partnership assessed talent indicators for the region and measured these against 19 peer communities. This exercise revealed that the Tampa Bay talent pool lagged its peers, particularly in metrics related to the regional talent pipeline. In
