Description
A new breed of business could lead a wave of downtown revitalization. Maker businesses such as craft jewelers, manufacturers of small batch lotions and cosmetics, and microbrewers, are a growing, but often overlooked segment of the post-pandemic economy.
In Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, community development expert Ilana Preuss explains how local leaders can revitalize their downtowns by bringing in and supporting maker businesses.
Preuss draws on her experience working with local governments, large and small, to demonstrate how small-scale manufacturers help create thriving places, with local business ownership opportunities, and well-paying jobs.
Preuss also provides the practical tools that local leaders need to develop their strategy, find and attract small-scale manufacturers, and create a local business climate and physical environment where small-scale manufacturing can thrive.
Table of Contents
- What it Means to Recast Your City
- Why We Need a New Economic Development Model
- A Stronger Economic Development Model with Small-Scale Manufacturing
- Five Steps to Recast Your City
- Step 1: Light the Spark
- Step 2: Find and Connect with New People
- Step 3: Start the Conversation and Get Great Information from Your Interviews
- Step 4: Analyze the Input and Understand What it All Means
- Step 5: Be Impatient and Act Now
About the Author
Ilana Preuss’ passion for great places grew out of her experience working with big and small cities all over the country when she led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program, and as the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Studies from Cornell University and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Maryland.