An important but little-noticed court ruling in 2023 recognizes that towns and cities have broad authority to reject dollar store development.
Chicago City Council has voted to enact an ordinance that will limit development of new chain dollar stores, the largest city yet to do so.
“Eliminating food deserts requires many solutions. But there is one absolutely essential action: preventing dollar stores from proliferating,” Tulsa City Council Member Vanessa Hall-Harper and...
From mobile markets to refrigerated food pick-up lockers, communities are exploring new approaches to making sure their residents have convenient, affordable access to healthy food.
On The Hustle, Kennedy Smith spells out why dollar stores are so problematic for our pocketbooks and our communities.
ILSR's report shows how local communities can seize the opportunity presented by the American Rescue Plan Act’s funding to favor local, independent businesses.
ILSR's new report shows how civic leaders can use the American Rescue Plan to level the playing field and provide local economies with economic benefits.
A conversation between ILSR and Main Street America based on ILSR's new report outlining ideas for using American Rescue Plan money to support small businesses.
ILSR Senior Researcher Kennedy Smith talked to the Mayors' Institute on City Design about how to help Main Street businesses survive the pandemic.
Following months of public debate and community action, Amazon announced that it would wouldn't follow through on plans to build a new campus in Queens.
This toolkit offers independent business owners concrete tips for engaging with their city officials and advocating for policies that strengthen and grow local businesses. The...
As independent businesses are grappling with the cost of rent, a new strategy is emerging: policies that reserve space for local businesses in new development.
In this 20-minute talk, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell looks at why cities need independent businesses, and also at some of the issues that are facing these...
To help city leaders address the challenges facing independent businesses, ILSR organized a workshop at the National League of Cities' City Summit 2017 conference.
Independent businesses are among the best engines that cities have for advancing economic opportunity. But they’re disappearing in many places. This isn’t, in large part,...