economic development

Across the state and beyond, the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of integrating resiliency efforts to enhance a community’s ability to respond more quickly to unprecedented circumstances while lessening the impacts to our local and regional economies. With support from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) through the CARES Act, several of New Hampshire’s Regional Planning Commissions were able to implement a variety of programs aimed to assist member communities with economic resiliency planning.

New Hampshire’s public airport system consists of 24 public and private use airports. These airports range from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, New Hampshire’s largest public airport handling the majority of New Hampshire’s commercial airline service on its 9,250’ paved runway, to Colebrook Airport, with a 2,450’ grass runway. Not only do these local airports serve as an important infrastructure (particularly in times of distress); they also serve as public gathering places, family activity centers, and are an economic engine for tourism and businesses. 

In addition to contributing financially, small businesses often help define the identity and economic health of a city or town.

If you think the best way to lose weight, get fit, and improve your diet is to join a gym or hire a personal trainer, you're not alone. But you're not right, said Mary Collins, author of American Idle: A Journey Through Our Sedentary Culture, the keynote speaker on November 14 at the New Hampshire Local Government Center's 71^st annual conference, held in Manchester.

How can you explain workforce housing to people without losing them halfway through?" asked Anne Duncan Cooley, executive director of the Upper Valley Housing Coalition. Anne has worked for years as a housing advocate and developed many successful education and outreach programs for a broad range of audiences. She is also on the Orford's selectboard and encounters another set of challenges when she is working on municipal matters. "We have to be experts in everything, understand many issues, and clearly communicate the concepts to the public.

In New Hampshire, every town receives technical support for making decisions about land use from one of nine Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs). The RPCs were formed by the Legislature to aid and advise municipalities and prepare a coordinated plan for the development of the region. The planning support is used by municipalities for local decisions and to address the many issues that cross municipal borders. With a new three-year, $3.37 million grant from the U.S.

In 1969 the State of New Hampshire demonstrated support for local control by enabling municipalities to create regional planning commissions. Prior to then, a number of nonprofit organizations such as the Upper Valley Development Council, Inc. (1963) and Nashua Commission (1959) began forming around the state to meet the growing need to plan for development across municipal borders.

While much of the water infrastructure is "out of sight," it can't be "out of mind," as New Hampshire's environment and economy depend too much on it.

New Hampshire residents are dependent on an array of infrastructure that moves, stores and treats water. To make this happen, cities and towns own and operate a lot of water infrastructure in New Hampshire. These municipal systems provide public drinking water, centralized wastewater, storm water and dam infrastructure.