Strengthening Immigrant and Historically Disadvantaged Small Business Ownership and Generational Wealth-Building
Philadelphia’s immigrant-owned small businesses play a crucial role in the city’s economy, accounting for over a third of businesses in commercial corridors. Despite their economic significance, these business owners face substantial barriers to building long-term wealth, including limited access to business succession planning resources and challenges in acquiring the commercial... Read more
Fostering Intergenerational Wealth Through Homeownership
Kansas City faces significant housing challenges, including high vacancy rates (10.5% of housing units) and declining Black homeownership, which has decreased by 2.5% in recent years with fewer than 50% of Black households owning homes. To address these issues, the City's Land Bank is collaborating with the Office of Housing... Read more
Connecting Home Buyers with Down Payment Assistance
Durham, North Carolina is experiencing one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in the country, currently ranking fourth nationally in price growth and demand. The city's expanding job market in technology and healthcare has attracted new residents, but rising housing costs have created significant challenges, especially for historically underrepresented renters... Read more
Updating Urban Forestry Systems
The City of Los Angeles is embarking on a project in collaboration with FUSE to evaluate and update the Urban Forestry Division (UFD) fee schedule within the Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Street Services. With the management of over 700,000 trees along 6,500 miles of public roads, the UFD... Read more
Advancing Equitable and Sustainable Street Permitting, Enforcement & Financial Strategy
The City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) is collaborating with FUSE on a transformative initiative to strengthen how the City manages, regulates, and sustains one of the nation’s largest public right-of-way systems—more than 23,000 lane miles of streets, 660,000 street trees, and 800 miles of alleys. This... Read more
Business Intelligence for Sustainable Community Revitalization
In response to the pervasive issues of blighted properties affecting neighborhoods and economies, the City of Cleveland is embarking on a transformative initiative. With 30% of the city’s land in public hands, the aim is to convert vacant brownfields into accessible jobs, capitalizing on Cleveland’s industrial heritage. FUSE Executive Fellow... Read more
Reducing Greenhouse Emissions Through Community Engagement
The Washoe County, NV, community is addressing the negative impacts of climate change and the inequitable effects on vulnerable populations through its "Green Recovery Plan." This plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air pollution while addressing the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially... Read more
Workforce Development for Climate Action
The Salt Lake City, UT, community is working to implement a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to address the negative impacts of rapidly changing climate conditions. One of their goals is to assess workforce-related challenges and opportunities in key climate-related sectors and identify potential solutions and partners. To accomplish this,... Read more
Green Workforce Development to Expand Economic Opportunities
The Cincinnati/Hamilton County community has identified a pressing need for transitioning to a sustainable, green economy, specifically creating quality green jobs. This was a significant finding during the community engagement process of the 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan. The project aims to support low-income communities by creating training programs, career development... Read more
Designing an Inclusive, Accessible, and Green Lakefront
The community in Northern Cleveland is trying to solve the lack of equitable access to green space, particularly for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) residents. Despite the shoreline on Lake Erie offering natural amenities and recreational areas, it is cut off from the city by railroads, a highway,... Read more