By Ranada Robinson, Project Associate.   Earlier today, President Obama delivered a speech on education reform at the National Urban League Centennial Conference. After a few comments on the recovery of our economy over the past 6 months, health care reform, Wall Street reform, and even the Shirley Sherrod debacle, President Obama devoted the bulk of his message to the importance of quality education. One of his quotes is something that we preach around here at Market...

By Will Corbin, Project Associate.    During my semester of graduate study abroad in Newcastle, England, I decided to visit a friend of mine who was also studying abroad. My friend was taking classes at the London School of Economics, which is located, of course, in London. This presented a minor issue, because Newcastle is about 300 miles north of London. At an average driving speed of 70mph, it should take a little over four hours from start to finish. Accounting for traffic...

By Matthew Tarleton, Project Associate This past week I had the pleasure of visiting with Mike Gaymon and the entire staff at the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce. During my visit, I tagged along with Mike to his weekly radio appearances. We’ve heard so much recently about the struggles of traditional media and the rise of new media. I could digress for pages, but I’ll spare you (just this one time). Suffice it to say, traditional media isn’t dead. And it shouldn’t be ignored...

By Ellen Anderson, Director of Research.    A large part of what we do at Market Street is present research to tell stories about communities and translate those stories into real-world economic development strategies that leverage assets and opportunities and address factors that challenge the community’s short and long-term competitiveness. To do this, we examine an exhaustive inventory of community dynamics including demographic trends, economic structure, business climate,...

By J. Mac Holladay, founder and CEO. Diversity. Webster says it means – “the condition of being diverse.” Diverse is defined as “differing from one another – distinct or unlike elements or qualities.” Diversity comes in many forms and descriptions. It is about age, race, ethnicity, lifestyle choice, family makeup, and many more things. There is no question that our world becomes more diverse every day – in almost every way. Some are frightened by it, while others embrace it. In...

By Alex Pearlstein, Director of Projects.    Today’s blog could easily be a novel; I won’t deny that this subject is done short shrift by a cursory examination of why some cities succeed while others fail. Indeed, there is probably no “magic formula” to illuminate this topic just as the reasons why some people succeed and others don’t cannot be explained away by one or two key moments or traits. However, what has become clear in the two dozen or so communities I’ve worked with...

By Ranada Robinson, Project Associate. When I was in junior high and high school, my mom sent me to various summer camps at Pineywoods Country Life School, Jackson State University, and Alcorn State University. Each of the programs I attended was focused on academic enrichment in STEM subjects: math, chemistry, computer programming, and the like. It was through these programs that I was exposed to how I could use the math I loved so much in practical ways. By the time I got to college, I already...

By Will Corbin, Project Associate.   If you are familiar with me or have read my previous blogs, then you know that I am a big proponent of public-private partnerships, especially when it comes to economic and community development. I believe that one of the government’s main responsibilities is to help ensure the social and economic well-being of its citizens. At the same time, however, this task should not fall solely upon the government. In my March 25, 2010 blog post, Governments...

By Christa Tinsley, Project Associate   Earlier this year, I wrote a post on a few initiatives and incentives programs aimed at attracting fresher, healthier grocery options into neighborhoods and areas known as “food deserts.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food deserts as “areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food.” Since February, we have seen a number of new financing and analysis efforts emerge in identifying and eliminating food...