Keeping Small Businesses In Place: Voices From the Field

Abstract

In 2022, SBAN awarded case study grants to 11 organizations to fill critical gaps in research about what small business anti-displacement strategies are effective. The case studies contained in this report are the result of a year-long process, during which the SBAN team worked with author organizations from diverse neighborhoods and metropolitan regions to tell stories about effective small business anti-displacement strategies. These cases come from four countries, including many regions of the United States, and offer varied perspectives for scholars, policymakers, small business support organizations, and others who support BIPOC- and immigrant-owned businesses. Authors outline solutions such as community property ownership, culturally relevant technical assistance, Main Street models, new types of small business loan financing, unionization, construction disruption assistance, and cultural heritage preservation. While the authors provide lessons that individual organizations can employ, they also make clear the collective policy response needed at all levels to support small businesses so they can remain vital anchors of stable, equitable, and thriving neighborhoods.

Case study author organizations:

San Francisco Heritage, San Francisco Institut de Recherche et d’Informations Socioéconomiques, Montréal Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Chicago Purple Line Corridor Coalition, Washington, D.C., Metro Area Latin Elephant, London Chinatown Community Development Center, San Francisco The Allapattah Collaborative CDC, Miami Inclusive Action for the City, Los Angeles Binita Mahato, Auburn University | Kolkata District Bridges, Washington, D.C. Ventures Nonprofit, Seattle