What @sog_ced is reading online: September 2019

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: City of Marion, NC took ownership of Drexel plant, used grants to demolish and clean up site, and then will place site on the market. Excellent example of smart and legal approach to reuse of industrial site. http://bit.ly/2PY0ycZ Nonprofit Quarterly piece takes critical look at business location incentives, offers advice, mentions decision by Buncombe County NC to move some incentive funds to small business loans. http://bit.ly/2Nmeg7v City of Albemarle adopts housing code capable of addressing vacant buildings with “green-yellow-red” approach devised by UNC SOG faculty member and DFI Director Tyler Mulligan: http://bit.ly/2nQOxsj Other CED items: NY Times article suggests that Opportunity Zone investments are not helping the designated communities, https://nyti.ms/2LfKuPA, a concern we at SOG CED shared with local governments last year here: https://unc.live/2DucfzB. Zillow analysis: “Starting Salaries for Teachers Don’t Pay the Rent.” Teachers in Raleigh require 41% of their salary to afford median rent. Charlotte teachers use 37%. HUD defines cost-burdened families as those “who pay more than 30% of their income for housing” and “may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care.” http://bit.ly/2MTsufU Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies paper describes steep decline in past 5 years of number of rental units that are affordable to those earning $24k or less (rent of $600 or less). http://bit.ly/2LG1a2I DFI in the News: AIM Magazine cover story describes the [...]