Small Business

A report from the Sustainable Business Network recommends policy changes that will help Philadelphia improve business formation and job growth.

When governments use public money to woo national chains, economic growth and job creation aren't worth the cost, says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Independent retailers also suffer.

Levittown is the quintessential American suburb. A new proposal seeks to reinvent it as a hub for small businesses.

Luring business has long been a major strategy among cities to stay prosperous. This ranking lists the cities in America that are best at bringing in and harboring small businesses.

Rick Harrison tells a parable of a small businessman who's auto shop is decimated when a traffic engineer decides to put a median on the adjoining road, eliminating left turns into his shop. Will light rail essentially do the same?

Stacy Mitchell reports on the growing trend of micro-financing, where small business people turn to the local community to get the funding they need to open restaurants or small shops.

Seeking to replicate the success of the High Line linear park in New York City, some are suggesting the creation of a linear small business market beneath a segment of Metro tracks in Harlem.

Typically thought of as a war to protect small businesses in communities from being swallowed up by a giant, the local opposition to Wal-Mart stores is often funded secretly by other major grocery chains.

Historic downtowns in Israel are struggling against the growing tide of suburban American-style shopping malls that are developing on the outskirts of town.

As a new luxury retail center replaces a decades-old hardware store in upscale Malibu, California, many worry about the troubled future facing local businesses and services.

Cities like Alexandria, VA and Agoura Hills, CA have taken to relaxing sign restrictions for the sake of boosting local business.

Next American City reports on a recent conference that emphasized the role of immigrants in fueling economic growth.

Mom-and-pop shops in New York are being rapidly replaced with chain stores, according to a new count that shows more than 5,700 chain outlets in the city.

While cities are eager to encourage businesses to go green, many government incentive programs are not designed with small businesses in mind.

As proposals for big-box retail projects mount in New Orleans, many small business owners who are returning to the city worry about the coming competition. A documentary is currently being filmed about the recovering city's business atmosphere.