Challenge Located in the heart of Texas, Waco has the building blocks required for long-term success. Advantages fueling the city’s growing population and recent economic development wins include relatively inexpensive land (with available sites along the bustling IH-35 corridor), access to multiple higher education institutions (a network encompassing Baylor University […]
Challenge The Community Development Foundation (CDF), which serves as the chamber of commerce and economic development organization for Tupelo/Lee County, Mississippi, has long recognized the transformative power of a vision and a plan. Beginning with the 1946 “Tupelo Plan,” the CDF has implemented a series of plans that have enabled
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 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 Charged with linking transportation and land use planning in a 7-county region of northeastern Illinois, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and its partners have a strong history of collaboration. Long-range planning efforts such as ON TO 2050, the region’s current comprehensive plan that identified economically disconnected and
Challenge The inactivation of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade coupled with additional reductions in Army personnel dropped the active duty population at Fort Campbell to 26,500 in FY2015, down from a high of 31,092 just two years earlier. These personnel actions had a significant impact on the regional economy (defined
Challenge Greater Spokane has grown into the second largest metro area in the state of Washington and a significant economic driver for the Inland Northwest. The region is home to dynamic industries ranging from aerospace and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and agriculture, a full spectrum of higher education institutions,
Challenge With Oregon’s employment base growing faster than its labor force, the state’s talent shortage has become more acute. Rising vacancies and increases in the length of time required to fill positions cost Oregon employers billions each year (not to mention the subsequent loss of state revenues from income taxes).
Challenge Jackson County, Mississippi—one of the leading industrial centers along the Gulf Coast—has shown remarkable resiliency in the face of numerous challenges to its economic stability, including major storm events and economic upheavals associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The leadership’s commitment to economic growth has paid dividends, as evidenced by
Challenge The Right Place, Inc. (RPI) is an award-winning economic development organization serving the West Michigan region that includes Grand Rapids. The region is in an enviable economic position. The area has consistently led the state in population growth and the city of Grand Rapids was named one of the
