The Lean Business of Place-Based Enterprise

Small, Local Enterprises Add Value Place-based enterprises grow out of the economic, social and diverse market needs of the communities they serve. They enhance the character of those communities and brand them to outsiders. Place-based enterprises include factories,...

From Landlord to Leanlord

Introduction Owning a small building — or several small buildings — in your city sounds almost romantic. The boulevardier of history owned several small buildings and spent his day strolling up and down the boulevards, checking on tenants, collecting rent. But for...

Lean Ethics – the Big and the Small

The Injustice: Disparate Impact We know literacy tests for voting can have a discriminatory effect even if they are not discriminatory on their face. The same disparate impact hits development and small business. A permit fee that is the same for one house or a...

The Lean Scan – Activating Community Assets

About Lean Urbanism The growing movement for Lean Urbanism seeks to address the problem that significant barriers to entry exist for too many potential contributors to community revitalization and development, especially immigrants, Millennials, and the increasing...