In May 2015, Metro Chicago Exports (MCE) announced the launch of a Grant Program to help small and mid-sized businesses grow in international trade, specifically through export. The Metro Chicago Exports Grant Program, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co., will award grants up to $5,000 to businesses throughout Northeastern Illinois. The Kane County Exports Grant Program provides an additional incentive for Kane County companies to start or increase exporting.

Companies located in Kane County which apply for, and are awarded, a grant from Metro Chicago Exports, would be eligible for up to an additional $5,000 in funding from Kane County. The total amount allocated for the Kane County Exports Grant Program is $50,000.00 from Elgin Grand Victoria Riverboat funds set aside for economic development. The measure was approved by the County Board today.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE:

Companies located in Kane County which are awarded a grant from Metro Chicago Exports. Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are Existing Exporters or New-to-Export, with less than 500 employees and located in Northeastern Illinois, are encouraged to apply.

Preference will be given to the following targeted industries:

• Metals - Fabricated Metal Products
• Equipment - Medical Equipment and Supplies
• Machinery - Engine and Power Equipment
• Plastics - General
• Computers and Electronics - Precision Instruments

WHAT GRANTS COVER:

Grant awards up to an additional $5,000 that will support the company's next steps to going global. Companies may include multiple services and activities in their applications.

Awards can be used for services including, but not limited to:

• Marketing
• Compliance
• Business Development
• Education
• Financing
• Consultation 

WHERE BUSINESSES CAN APPLY:

Program information and applications are available at www.MetroChicagoExports.com. Questions can be directed to Kelsey Schrenk, Program Manager, at 312-589-5773.

WHEN APPLICATIONS ARE DUE:

Wave 2: Application deadline July 31, 2015. Award notifications by August 31, 2015.

Metro Chicago medical supply manufacturers exported over $1.1 billion last year, fulfilling global demand for high quality American-made medical technology products. Metro Chicago exports more medical technology than any city except New York. Metro Chicago's medical technology exports have grown by over 37% since 2007. 

Is your company ready to join the global healthcare market? 

The Illinois International Trade Centers (ITCs) and Metro Chicago Exports (MCE) invite you to attend a complimentary export roundtable, designed to help you grow your business globally. 

Roundtable participants will receive:

• Information on grant opportunities to help finance export activities
• A global market report focusing on international opportunities and regulatory requirements for medical device and supplies manufacturers
• Access to free and low-cost resources available to U.S. companies
• One-on-one assistance to create a custom export plan, to help generate new exports or accelerate your current export strategy

Walkable urban places are not just a phenomenon of coastal U.S. metropolitan areas. A new report by the George Washington School of Business demonstrates that the market desires them in Michigan-and they are gaining traction.

If this emerging trend in favor of walkable urbanism plays out in Michigan as it has in the other metro areas studied by GW - Atlanta, Boston, and Washington, D.C. - it will mean an historic shift away from the drivable development patterns that have dominated development for the latter half of the 20th century. The state could return to the walkable urban development pattern that predominated before World War II.

The research applies an analytical framework that replaces the city-versus-suburb dichotomy with a new lens by dividing each metropolitan area into two broad categories:

• Drivable Sub-urban: This development form has the lowest development density in metropolitan history .It features stand-alone real estate products (office, retail, for-sale residential, rental apartments, hotel, industrial, etc .), tends to be socially and racially segregated, and relies upon cars and trucks as the only viable form of transportation.

• Walkable Urban: This form of development has much higher density, has multiple real estate products close to one another, and employs multiple modes of transportation that get people and goods to the place .And once there, the place is walkable.

The complete report is available here.

EPA grantee Global Green is offering no-cost technical assistance with its sustainable neighborhood assessment tool. Applications from eligible local and tribal governments are due to Global Green by July 17, 2015, at midnight PST. Global Green expects to assist approximately six communities.

"Good candidates are communities that have expressed an interest in integrating sustainability as part of community revitalization efforts and that can identify a neighborhood that features a 'catalytic project.' Examples from previous communities include affordable housing development or renovation, public housing redevelopment through Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, urban design and green infrastructure upgrades related to combined sewer overflow mitigation, light rail or bus rapid transit stations, new urban parks, eco district formation, and modifications to increase resilience to extreme weather events."

Hundreds of companies across the United States are moving to and investing in walkable downtown locations. As job migration shifts towards cities and as commercial real estate values climb in these places, a vanguard of American companies are building and expanding in walkable downtown neighborhoods.

Why are companies choosing these places? What are the competitive advantages they see in these locations? And what features do they look for when choosing a new location?

Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown examines the characteristics, motives, and preferences of companies that have either relocated, opened new offices, or expanded in walkable downtowns between 2010 and 2015. Smart Growth America partnered with global real estate advisors Cushman & Wakefield to identify nearly 500 companies that have made such a move in the past five years. Representatives from more than 40 of these companies were interviewed to gain a better understanding of this emerging trend.

Smart Growth America recently hosted a panel discussion promoting the release of this report. The complete document is available here.