Challenge In early 2020, Central Texas had enjoyed years of record-setting expansion and a labor market with historically low unemployment. However, even under these favorable conditions, worrisome trends loomed. The aging of the workforce and retirement exposure, the educational attainment of the working-age population, youth disconnection, and the digitalization of […]
Challenge Home to Columbia, South Carolina’s state capital, Richland County boasts an impressive array of assets, including postsecondary institutions, transportation infrastructure, and the US Army’s Fort Jackson. Richland County also offers unique neighborhoods; historical landmarks and homes; a thriving riverfront; cultural, arts, and entertainment offerings; and outdoor recreation. This attractive
Challenge Marble Falls is part of the economically vibrant Austin metropolitan area and a gateway to Texas’s storied Hill Country. From 2002 to 2012, Marble Falls saw its employment levels increase approximately 40 percent, a trend that was forecasted to continue. However, rapid growth throughout the region also presented challenges
Challenge Bordered by rivers on three sides and the Tennessee state line on the fourth, the Purchase Region of Western Kentucky stands apart. Historically, the region’s fortunes were closely tied to the flow of goods along the inland waterways. In 2010, roughly two-thirds of the US population was within a
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 Bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and Homochitto National Forest to the southeast, Claiborne County boasts abundant economic, natural, and cultural assets that include Alcorn State University, Port Gibson’s historic downtown, and Entergy’s Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. Despite these assets, Claiborne County was struggling to maintain its
Challenge The City of Seward, Alaska, struggled with a core element of economic development: business retention and expansion. Business leaders questioned the commitment of City government to expanding private sector investment in Seward. A declining private tax base meant a heavier tax burden on existing businesses. The relatively small amount
Challenge Alvin, Texas, is strategically located halfway between Houston, the core city of the nation’s fastest-growing large metro area, and Freeport, the nation’s largest petrochemical complex. The city’s location also offers easy access to the region’s four major ports; proximity to Houston Hobby International Airport; and access to Alvin Community
Challenge Located in Anniston, Alabama, the Anniston Army Depot (the Depot) is one of a small number of US Army installations charged with neutralizing or destroying the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles, but this process was set to end in 2011. In addition to the anticipated job losses from the conclusion
Challenge Stretching along Interstate 77 (I-77) from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbia, South Carolina, the South Carolina I-77 Alliance region consistently outpaced the US during the first part of the decade. Led by employment gains in manufacturing, healthcare, and professional services, the region added nearly 30,000 jobs between 2011 and
