When we started Civic Economics ten years ago, we could never have imagined the adventures ahead of us. Looking back, it’s hard to believe the range of projects, places, and people we’ve worked with. If we collected state spoons from the places where we work, we’d have 30 of them today.

We’ve garnered our share of awards and citations; we’ve testified in the tiniest town councils and the biggest city and state legislatures; and we’ve collected enough stories to fill a book. But most importantly, we’ve met the needs of our clients when they have entrusted us with their thorniest challenges. Our thanks go out to all of them, from Brownsville, Texas to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, El Paso to Vancouver, and in our hometowns of Austin and Chicago.

We look forward to the next ten years of working for sustainable prosperity wherever your needs take us.

As the weather turns to fall, the partners of Civic Economics can look back at a productive summer and look ahead to a busy winter.

We are beginning work on two interesting projects in the Northeast.

In Binghamton, New York, home of Matt’s alma mater Binghamton University, we will work with a strong team led by Interface Studio of Philadelphia to develop a new comprehensive plan for a diverse and historic city. Civic Economics will provide a detailed analysis of the evolution of the city’s commercial districts over the last 20 years and provide guidance in developing vibrant and valuable options for residents and visitors in the future.

In Springfield, Massachusetts, we will work with Cummings & Associates of Boston to forecast the economic and fiscal impacts of a number of competing proposals for comprehensive gaming developments. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to provide impartial analysis of 17 casino proposals, and look forward to adding to that knowledge base.

In Canada, we are in the process of studying trends and impacts associated with independent small businesses in British Columbia. Many thanks to our partners at the Canadian Union of Public Employees-BC for their commitment to small business (and for providing us the opportunity to work in and travel to one of the world's most beautiful regions).

And in a nationwide effort with our friends at the American Booksellers Association, we are wrapping up a national study of the impact of independent businesses built from surveys in ten American communities. Participating communities are both large and small and from coast to coast, providing the first truly national sample of small businesses across many lines of goods.  Look for study releases in the coming weeks.

In recent months, we have completed a number of interesting projects.

In Austin, we studied the housing market through two very different lenses. First, we analyzed the distribution and impact of property tax exemptions for historical residential properties. Aided by our analysis, which provided more detail and accuracy than in-house studies, the Austin City Council, Austin Independent School District, and Travis County all chose to maintain the status quo.  In addition, HousingWorks retained Civic Economics to study the economic impact of $50 million in affordable housing bond expenditures since 2006 (see below).

We also had the opportunity to revisit prior projects to update our findings.  In Phoenix, we updated the 2006 study Procurement Matters: The Economic Impact of Local Suppliers (available in the Library).  The update reinforced our earlier findings, which have had a real influence on procurement policies in Arizona and elsewhere. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we analyzed revised design and financing plans for a proposed public-private partnership to build an entertainment complex. The Irving City Council ultimately declined to provide over $100 million in public subsidies to the project, which would have competed with a number of existing, privately-financed business in the area. Our partners at Thompson & Knight are to be congratulated for winning this battle in the courts and in the Legislature, as well.

In ten years, we've covered a lot of ground at Civic Economics. We've looked at electric deregulation, affordable and historic housing, gambling and liquor sales, and a range of economic development issues. But we always come back to independent, locally-owned retail and its important role in communities and regional economies. We're pleased to share a long-overdue summary of a series of studies on the subject. We hope it is useful.

The Partners of Civic Economics are always in demand for speaking engagements, addressing a wide range of economic development themes for a wide range of audiences.

Matt Cunningham appeared at two national conferences this spring: The American Independent Business Alliance 2012 Conference: Building Community Prosperity from Within, took place in Louisville, Kentucky. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies 2012 Conference: Real Prosperity Starts Here, took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Incidentally, both of these great cities are Civic Economics clients.

Dan Houston presented the keynote address at the 3rd Annual Neighborhood Business Conference at the University of Utah on May 10.  The event was organized by the Salt Lake City Office of Economic Development.  Dan's presentation slides are available for download here.

Dan Houston also appeared at City Forum, sponsored by the University of Texas School of Architecture, on February 24 to discuss the state and direction of the planning profession.