For too long, public policy has rigged the market to favor big corporations and undermine small, locally owned businesses, especially those launched by women and people of color. In this video of a panel session at the CommonBound conference, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell and other leaders discuss how, now, local businesses and activists across the country are working to change the rules to instead support community enterprises.… Read More
This post was written by ILSR intern, Alex Dangel. On July 4th, Sandy, Oregon’s municipal fiber-optic network, SandyNet, permanently increased the speed of its entry-level Internet package from 100 Megabit per second (Mbps) to 300 Mbps at no additional cost to subscribers. The city announced the speed boost for its $39.95 per month tier in a recent … Read More
Unless you live in a rural community, you probably assume becoming a Gigabit community is all about the miracles of speed. Speed is important, but so is Internet choice, reliable service, and respectful customer service. It’s also about being excited as you consider future economic opportunities for your rural town. Businesses Struggling With Old Services Before … Read More
Each Summer, we invite interns to work with our team to help write articles, research projects, and produce multimedia content for our audiences. Here’s a look at the excellent work they’ve accomplished here and where their education and careers will take them next! Waste-to-Wealth Jess Wachtler writes articles for the Waste-to-Wealth initiative about reuse, recycling, … Read More
Listen to ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell in a recent episode of the Strong Towns podcast, where she speaks about the origins of the big-box store, how the stores win public subsidies at the expense of communities, and the way they continue to undercut the American middle class.… Read More
The cost of leasing commercial space is soaring in many cities, threatening the future of independent businesses, finds a report released today from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The report examines what’s causing commercial rents to skyrocket and explores six broad policy strategies that elected officials and community leaders are proposing to address it.… Read More
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell spoke about a strategy to rein in Amazon’s expanding market power in this presentation at the 2016 Winter Institute. The annual conference and educational event, hosted by the American Booksellers Association, was held in Denver on Jan. 25 and 26.… Read More
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell spoke about policy to shape the next phase of the local economy movement in this presentation at the 2016 Winter Institute. The annual conference and educational event, hosted by the American Booksellers Association, was held in Denver on Jan. 25 and 26.… Read More
Amidst all the media talk about the failure of recycling, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency just released a report that underscores the viability and potency of recycling as an economic growth engine. As of the end of 2015, the state has created 60,000 jobs in traditional recycling and another 78,000 jobs in repair/reuse and fix it … Read More
