LA Metro Bus Project to Lift Up Disadvantaged Workers

A planning expert dives into responses from cities around the country to the infrastructural red tape faced by many brick-and-mortar retail businesses in the wake of an ecommerce boom. In Corning, NY, city officials created mid-block crosswalks to make navigating retail spaces downtown safer; in Memphis, local government passed a law that allows for light manufacturing in downtown areas to make owning "mom-and-pop" shops more affordable & convenient.

Despite heavy pressure, attending college is not for everyone, and a university degree no longer guarantees job placement; meanwhile industries like manufacturing are facing a decline in interested, qualified workers. Various initiatives in Massachusetts are implementing accessible job training programs, especially for minorities, that are helping to place people in manufacturing jobs that provide improved economic opportunity, while hopefully positioning the state for burst of industrial growth.

To combat the rapid decline in Cleveland's economy after the manufacturing collapse co-ops have stepped in. Co-ops help residents of poor neighborhoods find jobs, build stability and buy houses. They benefit other organizations by helping them to invest in the community.

A just-announced $6 million federal grant will help end poverty in Memphis, Tennessee.

As major manufacturers keep "pulling the rug" from under urban areas, low skilled job loss increases. Nevertheless, small-scale businesses have instrumental in their ability to counteract job loss in improvised urban areas. Small businesses are using tactics such as creative tax cut regulation to cut corners to pay livable wages to low-income workers.

To develop the next generation of producers, the Young Farmers Coalition non-profit is now pushing Congress and individual state legislatures to take a big step: forgiving farmers’ student loans.

In partnership with universities and community colleges, Intel’s Quick Start program gives students condensed training over 10 days that prepares them for careers in the semiconductor industry. In one iteration of the program at Portland Community College, 391 students have graduated so far, and everyone who graduates is guaranteed an interview at Intel.

My Green Network is a “cannabis cloud kitchen” that offers a shared-use facility for those looking to enter the cannabis industry launch their small businesses. It also provides business needs like legal advice, meeting space, storage, distribution and help applying for state and local permits.

In Northeast Ohio, manufacturing companies are partnering with local schools to address a workforce shortage by appealing to future workers at a younger age. By participating in a Certified Production Technician program, high school students in the 9th and 10th grade are able to learn technical skills, obtain a certificate, and learn more about career tracks in the manufacturing sector.

Sun Tribe Solar, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, collaborated with the city on a curriculum that is helping previously underemployed individuals join an insular industry, especially those who are underrepresented in the field. The cohorts are small and recieve the necessary certifications and learn from classes designed in partnership with Sun Tribe Solar; the program is another way for the city to create a pipeline to good jobs for all residents.