Localism

Part of Buffalo, New York's decline, writes Amy Kedron, involved a shift from local to non-local ownership of businesses. A movement is afoot to encourage businesses to "Think Local First."

Styled after Harper's Index, this "Localism Index" suggests that local economies and independent businesses might just be making a comeback.

Manufacturing in the U.S. hasn't gone away, it's just gone local, writes Allison Arieff.

Will the settling down of Generation X, whose youngest members are now turning 30, represent a boom in localism and community building? Scott Doyon thinks so.

Local food advocates have promoted the idea of only eating food raised within 50 miles of your home. But how about 2 blocks? A Vancouver neighborhood experiments in communal growing.

Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance summarizes some of the key positive trends in re-localization.

Joel Kotkin sees a trend in a 'New Localism'- people aren't moving around like they used to, and it's causing them to reengage with their communities.

A new and widely publicized study claims that there is no evidence that Wal-Mart has had a negative impact on the small business sector. A close inspection of the study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance argues that the report is flawed.

Joel Kotkin thinks that the effects of the financial crisis may not be all bad, and may even encourage a new focus on family and community ties.

In this article from Metropolis, dystopian author and urban critic James Howard Kunstler riffs on localism.