What @sog_ced is reading online: March 2021

The following are articles and reports on the web that the Community and Economic Development Program at the UNC School of Government shared through social media over the past month. Follow us on twitter or facebook to receive regular updates. Items of interest related to CED in North Carolina: NC Main Street Award winners announced: Hendersonville’s mill revitalization project with UNC DFI among winners for best adaptive reuse unc.live/38uj1op USA Today reporter looks at tensions created by development and growth in NC small towns Mebane and Leland. https://bit.ly/30eaIs8 Other CED items: Unintended consequences of geographic tax breaks like opportunity zones: lobbyists sought to change long-standing census tract boundaries, which disrupts policy-making and data for research http://bloom.bg/37RyUVA http://bit.ly/3r6zhTT Harvard housing report: Construction of smaller, affordable homes steadily increased over the past decade, but not yet at levels seen in prior decade. http://bit.ly/3r6zhTT Lincoln Institute: Renters really are paying more today. Share of renters paying over 30% of income on rent went from under 25% un 1960 to nearly 50% in 2016. The severely rent-burdened rose from 13% to 26% in the same period. https://bit.ly/2N4HE3C DFI Online Orangeburg, SC residents provide input on the redevelopment vision for the historic Railroad Corner during virtual sessions organized by UNC DFI, preservation and student-oriented retail are two common themes. https://bit.ly/3wiv9D0 Open letter to US Commerce Secretary asking for inquiry into lumber prices, which have tripled over the past year. Construction cost $24k higher for single family home, $9k higher for each multifamily home. bit.ly/3txo3IW Last month’s edition of “What @sog_ced is reading….” February 2021 Compiled by Sara Cockerham