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Institute for Local Government
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Subject Areas

Economic Development Tools

Overview

Economic Development Tools

Cities and counties use a variety of approaches to actively promote their local economy’s growth and vitality. Economic development efforts also provide ways for local officials to promote healthier neighborhoods.

HN Online Guide

Quality of Life and Healthy Work Places

Research has shown that many businesses, particularly those that offer more generous wages and benefits, choose to locate and stay in communities that deliver a higher quality of life to current and prospective employees.  In many cases, these quality–of-life elements — trails and bikeways, parks and recreation programs, walkable town centers, urban forests and neighborhoods free of excessive noise and air pollution — also contribute to a healthier population.

HN Online Guide

Revitalizing Neighborhoods

Communities change over time, evolving in response to demographic trends, changing economic conditions and other circumstances. Guiding this change in a positive direction is an important function of local government, particularly in older neighborhoods that have lost jobs and local businesses as their traditional economic activities have weakened or become obsolete. These neighborhoods often suffer from aging infrastructure and inadequate public and private investment as well as other social and economic challenges.

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Sustainable Economic Development Resource Center
Creating prosperous & sustainable communities is a goal all local officials and leaders can share, & the Institute wants to help you pursue that goal. Visit the Sustainable Economic Development Resource Center for more.

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Ideas for Action: Housing & Health

Healthy neighborhoods provide a range of housing types — single-family homes, duplexes, town homes and apartments — to suit the needs of diverse cross section of residents. A neighborhood’s housing stock can have implications for the health of its residents. Important factors in assessing the potential effects of housing on health include design, maintenance, location, affordability and conditions in the surrounding community.

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Case Story: Revitalizing Downtown Using Transit-Oriented Development

Read this story of how the City of San Leandro applied transit-oriented development strategies to revitalize its downtown retail core.

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