Win the corner, win the block, win the neighborhood.
- Urbane
THEORY OF CHANGE
We see neighborhoods as defined by their strengths and experienced as places of opportunity. Where others perceive a lack of resources, we see vast potential for growth and prosperity. Under-resourced urban and rural areas are incredible reservoirs of untapped talent, where scarcity of investment and amenities fosters fertile ground for local innovation, creativity, and thought leadership. For Urbane, the chance to collaborate with and invest in the people and places that make these communities shine is a no-brainer.
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY ANCHORS
We focus on small businesses and other local anchors because their role offers unparalleled insight and influence, making them powerful, positive agents for change. Our work is rooted in a participatory action research (PAR) approach, fomenting the transformative strength of these anchors.
Focus Areas
Our work with communities should disrupt the status-quo. Attaining performance parity with mainstream markets is not the goal, this is about investing in communities so they operate at the cutting edge. The Focus Areas of our work seek to transform perception – to recognize that underserved communities are engines for innovation and prosperity.
- Community Anchor Development Development and Asset Management Strategy, Program Design and Implementation, Pro Forma Development, Tenant Attraction and Technical Assistance, LP Capital Attraction
- Public and Affordable Housing Enterprise Incubation and Acceleration, Workforce Pipeline Formation, Alternative Credit Building, Tenant Engagement
- Social Impact Finance Impact Investing, Community REIT, Community Wealth Management Centers
- Equitable Economic Development Economic Impact Analysis, Capital Access Analysis, Master Planning, Strategic Policy Recommendations, Pilot Design and Implementation, Stakeholder Engagement Design
- Small Business Solutions Customized Training and Technical Assistance, Business and Organizational Strategy, Customer Attraction and Retention, Business Plan Development, Financial Analysis and Modeling
The HOW
Trust Transforms
Urbane builds bridges toward equitable distribution of wealth and power. We foster community-led solutions through research, advisory, and place-based development and investment. By centering the wisdom and solutions already in communities, we aim to build a future of prosperity and shared wealth.
We Believe that Trust Transforms.
Trust is the foundation of Urbane’s process and our company at large. As connectors, mediators, and deep listeners, we build trust between ourselves and communities, between communities and partners, and in all steps of our work. Our stakeholders say, time and time again, that our work is unlike any other. It is that trust that we work hard to earn and give so authentically to communities that transforms our process and this work.
The WHY
Our Origins
The idea to forge a new entrepreneurial path was born amidst Italian cliffs while attending the annual Terra Madre conference in Turin; already an early pioneer in healthy food financing initiatives that would soon proliferate nationally, our founder became the bodega man, bridging the ubiquitous neighborhood staple with an inkling that these dynamic spaces – community anchors in their own right – had the power to be transformative.
If you could transform the corner of the block, perhaps you could seed the change for an entire street, and even begin to revitalize an entire neighborhood. And thus, Urbane sprouted its wings in 2008, born out of bodegas, a Philly grind, and the hustle and determination to create pathways to wealth and opportunity for black, brown, and marginalized communities across the nation.
Where We Work
From the Northeast corridor to the Hawaiian Islands, Urbane is investing in people and places to make community dreams a reality.
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