THE RURBAN FRINGE

Focus on Creating Value for Local Customers

I’ve heard it said there is no silver bullet to sustainable living, but rather a toolbox to pick and choose your methods from.
One method of mine is to ‘buy local’ as I view sustainable consumerism as intentional consumerism. 
Yet on the flip side, virtually no local economies today are fully self-sustaining.  Cheap manufacturing elsewhere, cheap big box [...]

Breaking Myths About the Economic Contribution of Rural Communities

I love studies.  And this one, Breaking Myths About the Economic Contribution of Rural Communities, demonstrates how rural communities – and especially communities located in the rural-urban fringe – continue to play an important role in larger economies (based on recent research undertaken in Quebec).
Unfortunately, the 140 page study is only available in French.  However, [...]

Save Your Local Economy

What are three local businesses you would hate to lose from your community?  Got them in your mind?  Great.  Okay, now commit to spending $50 amoung those three places each month.  Ta-da!!  You’re saving your local economy!
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  It is … and all it takes is you.
A growing movement called the 3/50 project [...]

City Vitals Series: Economic Integration

CEOs for Cities is an American network of urban leaders from the civic, business, academic and philanthropic sectors dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of American cities.
Their ‘City Vitals Series’ is an ongoing look at the factors of urban success, and their most recent paper on ‘Economic Integration’ outlines three key points:
1.  When [...]

The Chicken or the Egg?

Think fast … which comes first, infrastructure or economy?
Both, actually.  Economic development strategies must walk hand in hand with infrastructure development to be successful.
One may argue that it’s wrong to develop economic approaches while neglecting basic infrastructure requirements.  Or one may argue that by focusing on infrastructure development, businesses that drive local economies will be all [...]

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