Economic Development Strategies

A healthy and vibrant community is fundamental to economic growth. Developing and expanding a community’s economic base however, requires a solid understanding of the local and regional economy and in particular how a community’s industrial and business sectors compete in a global economy. An economic development strategy incorporates a careful analysis of a community’s competitive positionand reflects its unique economic structure, assets, limitations and business environment.

 Economic Impact Analysis

The decision to change policy or to invest public funds in new infrastructure projects requires rigorous analysis to understand the implications on local and regional economic circumstances.  urbanMetrics provides economic impact studies which provides quantitative measurements of job, income and tax revenue creation resulting from government decisions.  Our firm has worked on high-profile assignments, including those in the areas of transportation, public transit, healthcare, education and tourism.  

Real Estate Development Strategies

Understanding how to maximize the value of land development parcels can be a complex undertaking. Real estate development strategies involve a number of considerations, including: competing market interests, long-term development horizons, municipal and other regulatory challenges and physical limitations to growth on-site. In developing effective real estate solutions, we often partner with other real estate professionals, including: land use planners, urban designers, architects, engineers, traffic consultants and lawyers. Our role typically involves the determination of uses, physical space warranted in the development (building and land area), and the appropriate timing of delivery to ensure that the client’s financial return is fully maximized.

Growth Management Strategies 

Growth management is an issue for communities struggling to maintain their economic prosperity.  Rapidly growing communities often face pressures to add costly infrastructure that will have fiscal implications well into the future.  Slow growth communities, on the other hand, must make hard decisions with regards to aging infrastructure in order to sustain population and employment.  urbanMetrics work with municipalities to identify their growth prospects and prepare infrastructure investment strategies that reflect community character, opportunities and sustainability goals.