Challenge West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley region, anchored by the Charleston metropolitan area, faces long-standing economic challenges including troubling population loss, below-average employment growth, lagging unemployment rates, and low levels of workforce participation. At the same time, new leadership and promising opportunities sparked a renewed sense of agency, urgency, and optimism
Challenge Situated in northern Illinois, Grundy County’s rural charm, robust transportation network, and proximity to Chicago have spurred industrial development and attracted individuals and families seeking less densely populated areas. However, steady population gains and continued industrial expansion have highlighted the need to better balance growth with preservation of the
Challenge Since adopting its current economic development strategic plan in May 2017, the Greater Green Bay Chamber had made great strides in addressing the challenges the plan set out. Created with assistance from TIP Strategies, the 2017 plan was organized around an ambitious set of 11 initiatives designed to support
Challenge Northwest Indiana (comprised of Lake, Porter, and La Porte Counties) faces both old and new obstacles on its path to sustainable economic growth. Some, such as the decline of the steel industry, have been impacting the region for years. Others, like the region’s housing and workforce shortages, are nationwide
Challenge With its wealth of economic assets and increasingly positive economic trends, Fort Wayne–Allen County is poised to solidify its position as one of the Midwest’s premier growth centers. However, certain obstacles stand in the way of achieving this goal including a shortage of developable and re-developable sites, talent shortages,
Challenge Interstate 68 (I-68) is a 113-mile, east-west highway that travels through mountainous and rural areas to connect I-70 in Hancock, Maryland, to I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia. In 2016, the counties and cities that share I-68 as a common asset formed the I-68 Regional Economic Partnership (REP). While the
Challenge Montgomery County is one of the most prosperous and successful communities in the United States. It boasts numerous strengths, including world-class research institutions, globally recognizable brands, a highly educated and diverse populace, and attractive neighborhoods. And yet, Montgomery County (and the entire Washington DC region) faced a profoundly changed
Challenge Shelbyville is advantageously located in central Tennessee between the booming metropolitan hubs of Nashville and Huntsville. The community boasts a robust manufacturing base, rich cultural traditions like the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, and valuable natural assets along the Duck River. However, accelerating regional growth has triggered infrastructure constraints
Challenge The Greater Brownsville economy is undergoing a generational transformation, moving from low wages and a net outflow of talent to becoming a formidable competitor in the national economy. The region has boasted large capital investments from mega-projects like SpaceX, Rio Grande LNG, and Saronic. Yet economic successes of this
Challenge Strategically situated in Washington’s Puget Sound region with direct access to major freight corridors and the Port of Tacoma, the City of Fife (City) boasts a strong legacy as an industrial and commercial anchor. However, as the City evolves, it faces pressures around constrained developable acreage, high development costs,
