The Chief Economic Correspondent for The New York Times, Ben Casselman, recently posted a video piece on the economic condition of the average American worker over the past few years (2024-25), where we saw “slowing inflation and relatively solid wage growth.” However, he notes a recent reversal. Inflation has been...
Two Persistent Myths About Rural North Carolina, and Why They Matter for Community Economic Development Community development and economic development professionals working in rural North Carolina are often asked to solve complex problems with limited tools. But one of the biggest barriers to effective rural development is not funding...
Understanding why workforce housing is becoming a key investment opportunity.
Exploring the long-term benefits of structured real estate investments.
A closer look at one of Las Vegas’ fastest-growing submarkets.
In a previous blog, I explored the unique challenges of implementing performance management within community development. I highlighted two key factors that contribute to these difficulties. First, community development services are not consistently structured across local governments. They may operate at the county or municipal level, exist as independent...
An extensive study just released by Opportunity Insights at Harvard University is drawing significant attention to the impact of certain integration-oriented housing policies – specifically the concept of “moving to opportunity,” including a editorial in The New York Times, and a featured article in The Atlantic. The programs at...
Local governments in rural North Carolina play a central role in community well-being, shaping everything from emergency response to long-term economic opportunity. Yet rural leaders often face a distinct set of constraints: small staffs, tight budgets, aging infrastructure, and geographic separation from neighboring governments as well as peer or...