Jan 25, 2021
As events continue to unfold in our communities from the fallout of Covid-19, social unrest, and sieges on the capital; many of our black-owned businesses are on the brink of extinction. Many minority business owners are facing unheard of challenges and are looking for some relief. In St. Louis City many of our black-owned businesses…
Jan 25, 2021
Equitable Economic Development. What does it mean? Well, equitable means fair and impartial. Economics is the study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and service. And development is the process of starting an experience. Given these definitions, one could say equitable economic development means to begin fairly producing and distributing goods and services. If that is…
Jan 25, 2021
The St. Louis region is heading for one of its most impactful economic moments in decades. As a region, we need to ensure that government and commercial organizations have the talent pipelines needed to remain globally competitive. On June 23, 2020 the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (SLEDP) led GeoFutures committee released a full report on…
Jan 25, 2021
The adversity introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly defined one of the most difficult and trying periods of our lifetime. Between tremendous loss, economic instability and widespread public health threats, life as we know it has been replaced by what most consider to be an interim “new normal.” As we all endeavor to take…
Jan 25, 2021
I originally grew up in the housing projects of East St. Louis. So to me, St. Louis was the “big city.” As a young black girl, I looked at the shiny, silver Gateway Arch as a beacon of progress and hope for the region. I often walked from the front steps of my home to…
Jan 22, 2021
Nearly every American city has a neighborhood that has suffered from decades of disinvestment and blight, thus crippling the economic opportunity of its residents. Often, these neighborhoods are predominantly black. And we know that attempts to revitalize these neighborhoods through “trickle-down economic development” have failed — and will continue to fail. Yet despite the global…
Jan 22, 2021
St. LouisA New Urban Champion New Urban Champions is an initiative created to showcase the most successful, but less frequently told stories of collaboration, growth, and problem-solving happening in mid-sized cities that deserve a greater share of the spotlight. NewCities convened its first New Urban Champions Learning Expedition in Columbus, Ohio in October 2018. For this second edition, NewCities…
Dec 29, 2020
The rise of the sharing economy has changed the way that urbanites consume products and use services. It has proven to be a force that bridges public and private interests – it is, at once, social and commercial, formal and informal – and its ubiquity has prompted a global, cross-sectoral evaluation of how it has…
Dec 07, 2020
For our final episode of the weekly Big Rethink series before relaunching in 2021, Data Action author and MIT Civic Data Design Lab director Sarah Williams joins us to discuss the uses and abuses of urban data, surveillance in “smart cities,” and who this data is for. Watch now Photo credit: Pexels
Dec 01, 2020
Fireside Chat with Shaun Donovan, Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development & John Rossant, Chairman of NewCities Shaun Donovan shared his hopeful predictions for the change of administration, his past and present campaign motivations, and his prioritization of equity and inclusion into all aspects of his leadership. Here were a few things that…
Nov 02, 2020
City sounds are not often considered a friend, but more of a nuisance to be reduced or even cancelled. As citizens, we tend to forget that, “we constantly rely on sounds to interact with our environment and plan our actions,” as Catherine Guastavino and Daniel Steele remind us in “What Should the City Sound Like?”…
Oct 23, 2020
Why The Pursuit of Quiet Isn‘t Working We constantly rely on sounds to interact with our environment and plan our actions, be it to avoid an approaching car, attend to a crying baby, or answer a ringing phone. Certain sounds orient, comfort, or excite us while others distract or annoy us. Calm sound environments can…
