Press & Media

Ferguson Township, PA, enlisted Fourth Economy to help create an economic development, growth, and innovation strategic master plan

Fourth Economy is working with partner firm EQT By Design and the city of Madison’s Economic Development Division to update their Economic Development Plan.

Fourth Economy and Firefly Outdoor + Economics hosted 10 sessions across Pennsylvania, engaging more than 650 people to grow the outdoor recreation industry. The workshops welcomed community input for a new, statewide industry alliance for outdoor recreation businesses.

Fourth Economy convened twenty community members to identify community recreation assets, challenges and opportunities to inform an outdoor master recreation and facilities plan for Jay, Livermore, and Livermore Falls, ME.

The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized Fourth Economy and evolveEA for implementation of the Allegheny Together program on behalf of Allegheny County Economic Development.

Brookhaven City Council unanimously approved the Comprehensive Plan Update 2044. Rough Draft Atlanta highlighted Fourth Economy's support of the city's 10-year Comprehensive Plan Update, which focused on housing and economic development analysis.

As a result of updating Greater Lafayette's Regional Development Plan for our client, Greater Lafayette Commerce, the region received $35 million in funds from the State of Indiana’s second round of the READI program which will help fund projects within the seven-county region.

InForum reports on the Red River Regional Council and Fourth Economy Client, the Red River Community Housing Development Organization (Red River CHDO), hosting housing build sessions as part of their rural housing study. The Regional Housing Study and Action Plan will help decision-makers, stakeholders, and community members gain a meaningful sense of the housing market and key housing issues.

Politico highlights the report Fourth Economy and Steer completed for our client, the Chamber of Progress, a new tech industry coalition devoted to a progressive society, economy, workforce, and consumer climate. The study quantifies autonomous vehicle market opportunity, presents recommendations and promising practices to capture that opportunity, and highlights actionable steps for policymakers.

Fourth Economy Client, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), released its 2023 annual report which included goals for advocating and supporting strategies to encourage the reuse of failing office buildings and empty storefronts. As part of this effort, Fourth Economy developed a roadmap outlining strategies for PDP to access and effectively manage resources dedicated to capital projects. For another client, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, we analyzed the potential for revenue generation that could be captured or diverted through the establishment of a Downtown Pittsburgh Investment Zone.

Sally J. Guzik, Vice President at Fourth Economy, shared what we see trending in our growing body of work related to the outdoor economy — cultural and outdoor recreational opportunities are increasingly merging.

We partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop the Energy Funding and Assistance Finder to assist communities and organizations in identifying opportunities to receive funding and technical assistance for energy projects that can help to reduce pollution, lower bills, and drive the adoption of new, clean, and efficient technologies.

Centerstate CEO retained Fourth Economy and Empire State Development to craft a pivotal Community Priorities Document (CPD) that will inform investment millions of dollars in Central New York over the next 20 years. Fourth Economy's multi-faceted role includes conducting data analysis on key focus areas, supporting the Committee's engagement with community groups, leading focus groups and interviews with stakeholder groups and the public, and facilitating additional public meetings.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recognizes Fourth Economy's Economic Impact Report, Robots in the Backyard (2021), that found the $8 million to $10 million invested in Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center has since returned $545 million in direct funding in 2020 dollars.

In 2018, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce retained Fourth Economy to create and manage implementation of a five-year strategic plan for a regional economic development organization. In May, Grow Smart RI and the Aquidneck Land Trust at Innovate Newport hosted a forum featuring input from municipal planners in Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth, RI, housing policy organizations, and researchers looking for ways to combat concerning trends. Chris Worley, Senior Consultant at Fourth Economy, spoke about the disconnect between housing development and workforce growth and the impact that will have on attracting and maintaining a core cluster of essential workers.

Fourth Economy is working with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and community stakeholders to create a strategic plan to attract a larger and more diverse audience to the Music Center, improve and expand programming, and build financial sustainability and operational efficiency. The Blue Ridge Music Center showcases the living musician tradition of the region and has the potential to create even greater cultural and economic impact. This work is made possible by funding from the National Park Foundation's 2022 Strong Parks, Strong Communities grant program.

The Rochester Beacon recognizes Fourth Economy's assistance with the Rental Vacancy Rate Study alongside Mullin & Lonergan Associates Inc., and Highland Planning LLC. After all of the surveys were processed, the contractors had data on 245 properties, or 37 percent of those considered appropriate. With that information, they estimated that the net vacancy rate of Rochester’s ETPA-eligible rental properties was 9 percent, too high for the city to adopt the ETPA and institute rent stabilization.

In collaboration with the Allegheny County Health Department, community organizations, and county residents, Fourth Economy supported the development of the community health assessment and the newly-released community health improvement plan. The project included data analysis and visualization to update the county’s health indicators for physical, behavioral, and environmental priority health focus areas.

The plan was created under the guidance of Dr. Debra L. Bogen, the former ACHD director who is now the acting secretary of health for Pennsylvania.

Prosper, a Birmingham-based nonprofit, has launched Operation: Backing Black Businesses, an initiative connecting Black entrepreneurs and business owners in the Birmingham area to the resources they need to thrive.

In early 2022, Prosper tasked Fourth Economy with examining the ecosystem supporting Black-owned businesses, including its participants, strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity for investment and impact. Strategic partners included IGNITE! Alabama and LRY Media Group.

The Allegheny County Health Department released a five-year community health improvement plan to make the county a healthy place to live, work, learn, and play.

In collaboration with the department, community organizations, and county residents, Fourth Economy supported the development of the community health assessment and the newly-released community health improvement plan. The project included data analysis and visualization to update the county’s health indicators for physical, behavioral, and environmental priority health focus areas.