Earlier this month, the Neighborhood Economics conference came to Chicago – a city alive with energy, creativity, and a fierce commitment to building stronger, more connected neighborhoods. Opening remarks from Alison Clark, the Associate Director of Impact Investing at the MacArthur Foundation, and one of the event’s key sponsors, set the tone with reflections on […] The post Full Conference Wrap-Up: ‘Where Trust and Power Converge’ appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
It happened at 11 am, in a session on soft capital.I’d been writing for a few weeks about how the solutions to repair and heal local economies are becoming replicable, not just complex one-offs just short of rocket science. I was thinking of work like what Lyneir Richardson and his company, Chicago TREND, had done […]| Neighborhood Economics
Soft Capital, Strong Communities: Emerging Housing Finance Models for Equity and Belonging What if the greatest barrier to home ownership wasn’t income or credit—but the lack of early, flexible capital that trusts people first? From Cincinnati to Denver, South Bend to Boise, innovators are piloting early-stage soft capital tools that build equity, permanence, and community […] The post Soft Capital, Strong Communities: Emerging Housing Finance Models for Equity and Belonging appeared fi...| Neighborhood Economics
Funding the Quarterbacks: Chicago’s Patient, Place-Based Strategy Chicago’s anchors and philanthropy are choosing to fund intermediaries as “community quarterbacks,” doing it patiently and with enough resources to actually move the needle. Two live examples are West Side United’s food-system market formation and Community Desk Chicago’s community-owned real estate work. Why Community Quarterbacks Matter If you […] The post Funding the Quarterbacks: Chicago’s Patient, Place-Bas...| Neighborhood Economics
It’s easy to find stories about what’s broken in our economy, how inequality deepens, systems fail, and despair feels justified. These challenges are real and must be acknowledged. But when they dominate the conversation, we risk missing something equally true: there are hundreds of people, enterprises, funds, and initiatives actively repairing their local economies, quietly, […] The post Join Us in Chicago to See What’s Possible Now appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
How Two Strangers Sparked a Citywide Awakening Sometimes, the most powerful outcomes begin with a single unexpected moment. In 2023, Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 took the stage at Neighborhood Economics in Jackson and revealed how property tax systems often force low-income neighborhoods to subsidize wealthier ones. In the crowd was Patton Dodd, director of storytelling […] The post The Tax Map That Changed San Antonio appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
How One Gathering Sparked National Ripples We’re genuinely thrilled about our most recent event in Asheville on April 1st and not just because of the rave reviews we’ve been receiving. These kinds of reflections remind us that Neighborhood Economics is more than a gathering. It’s a movement with tangible momentum. What Attendees Are Saying “It […] The post From Asheville With Impact appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
Entrepreneurship Meets the Post Disaster Economy: Get Ready for an Unforgettable Experience An unprecedented assembly of investment funds are going to gather in Asheville in a little over a month, all focused on helping local entrepreneurs succeed and become job creators. There will be sessions to help entrepreneurs learn how to best tell the story […] The post The Post Disaster Economy appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
Sometimes a church can do a better job of solving the problem of post-disaster emergency housing than either a city government or a federal agency. That was the situation in Asheville when Grace Covenant Presbyterian stepped in to solve the problem for the hundreds of people who lost their homes–apartments, trailers, or houses –thanks to […] The post Church Leads Relief for the Unhoused after the Hurricane appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
I had the opportunity to go last week, with Rosa Lee, to the Ostrom workshop at the University of Indiana to explain the post-disaster economy I see sprouting through several initiatives in and around Swannanoa where we live; it was the epicenter of Hurricane Helene. Our neighborhood, which is often called Swannana-nowhere in the Asheville […] The post An Economy of Reciprocity Based in Abundance appeared first on Neighborhood Economics.| Neighborhood Economics
A colleague has created a data set that shows where the relief money in the Asheville bioregion is going to provide relief and restoration from the impact of Hurricane Helene. Thanks to Tiffani Hart, who leads Ashevillerelief.org, we can see that much money from state and federal funds is going to each CDFI for these […]| Neighborhood Economics
We convene, recruit, and connect people repairing local economies.| neighborhoodeconomics.org
Explore the intersections of capital, faith, real estate, health, climate & entrepreneurship. Sept 29–Oct 1 in Chicago. Join changemakers nationwide.| Neighborhood Economics
