Across the country, independent businesses are increasingly grappling with rising rents, chain stores moving into cities, and a built environment that is changing to become less suited to their needs. Portland, Me., is one of the cities facing these issues.
In September, ILSR’s Olivia LaVecchia spoke at an event organized by Portland Buy Local, the independent business alliance in the city, about how smart public policy can support Portland’s local economy. The event was inspired in part by ILSR’s April 2016 report, “Affordable Space: How Rising Commercial Rents Are Threatening Independent Businesses, and What Cities Are Doing About It.”
Watch Olivia’s 20-minute presentation, below, on policy strategies for Portland, and for cities everywhere facing the same thing.
If you like this talk, don’t miss two more from the same event: ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell on why locally owned businesses are vital for cities, and AnMarie Rodgers, Senior Policy Advisor to the City of San Francisco Planning Department, on how San Francisco implemented its formula business policy and how well it works.
