Description
Book SynopsisIn Small Business and the City, Rafael Gomez, Andre Isakov, and Matt Semansky highlight the power of small-scale entrepreneurship to transform local neighbourhoods and the cities they inhabit.
Trade Review'This book provides a rich analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of small firms in a dynamic context like Canada.' -- Alessandra Micozzi Scienze Regionali vol 16:01:2017 "A most useful book, especially for the city planner, urban geographer, and anyone who cares about the future of cities. Relevant case analyses are embedded in a coherent structure that provides practical examples of past successes and failures as well as sensible policy recommendations for the future. Highly recommended." -- David K. Foot, Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics, University of Toronto, and author of 'Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift' "Small Business and the City is a plea for a 'small is beautiful' approach to business, urban scale, and public sector decision-making. Gomez, Isakov, and Semansky's evocative descriptions of Business Improvement Areas teach far more about BIAs, their operations, and the thinking of their members than do tables of statistics on these organizations." -- Pierre Filion, Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo "Each atomistic transaction between a small business and a customer provides the flare for a rich economic eruption, encompassing spillovers and interactions with other firms, citizens, and the built environment. This book offers a bold explanation of how cities can succeed by nurturing and harnessing these powerful interactions to create dynamic communities and growing economies." -- Kevin Milligan, Associate Professor, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia
Table of ContentsForeword, by Michael Thompson Acknowledgments * Introduction: Small Business and City Life Part I: The View from Main Street * The BIA Movement: Setting the Stage for Main Street Revitalization * The View from Main Street Halifax: The Challenge of Being the Big Fish in a Small Pond * The View from Main Street Vancouver: A City Region with an Emerging Sense of Place * The View from Main Street Toronto: The Bottom-Up, Top-Down Conundrum Part II: Unlocking the Potential of Small-Scale Enterprise * The "Art and Science" of Small Business Survival: Lessons in BIA Practice * Of People, Profits, and Place: Lessons in Local Economic Development * Small Business and the Main Street Agenda: Lessons in Public Policy * Recommendations for Making Small-Scale Enterprise a Transformative Force * Conclusion: Cities, Small Business, and Distributed Decision Making Afterword: Or ... Why Staying Small, Local, and Independent Matters to City Life About the Authors Notes References Index
