Last week, HR&A’s Andrea Batista Schlesinger joined mayors from across the country at the Mayors Innovation Project winter meeting—a gathering that served as both an antidote to the current moment and a reminder of the real, tangible work happening in cities across America.

The dual nature of cities has never been more apparent. They are simultaneously bastions of democracy—places of refuge, diversity, and innovation—and the proving grounds where leaders must deliver solutions to persistent challenges like housing affordability, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. This tension animated every conversation at the convening.

Safety as a Prerequisite for Governance

One theme that emerged centered on mayoral and staff safety. In an increasingly polarized political environment, threats against local officials have escalated dramatically. Mayors shared stories of security concerns that pull focus from governing and policy development. The takeaway was clear: democratic institutions can only function when leaders have adequate resources and protection to do their jobs without fear. This has implications for how we think about mayoral transitions, city administration capacity, and even the future pipeline of public servants willing to step into these roles.

Climate Financing is Urgent

The panel on public financing underscored an urgent need: quantifying the fiscal impact of climate change and developing innovative financing structures for resilient infrastructure. This isn’t abstract policy. It’s about keeping businesses open, protecting workforces, and preserving tax bases.

Mount Vernon’s flood wall exemplified this perfectly. By investing in resilient infrastructure, the city prevented downtown flooding, enabled businesses to remain operational during severe weather events, and removed areas from FEMA’s 100-year floodplain designation. That last achievement alone lowered homeownership insurance costs for residents, a tangible household benefit from smart infrastructure investment. It’s precisely the kind of multiplier effect HR&A analyzes in infrastructure financing and climate practice work.

Innovation at the Local Level

Perhaps most inspiring were the innovation showcases, where mayors shared new initiatives proving that local government can be genuinely innovative. From Beaverton’s nonprofit incubator building organizational capacity, to Brooklyn Park’s Community Intervention Unit successfully reducing youth violence and improving police-community relations, to Frederick’s groundbreaking municipal returnship program providing pathways back to work, these weren’t theoretical proposals. They were live programs delivering results.

Other highlights included Rochester partnering with the National Civic League to redesign public meetings for better accessibility and participation, Sterling finally implementing a rental inspection program after two decades by leveraging incentives rather than mandates, and Columbia deploying Community Connectors to reach residents often missed by traditional government outreach.

The Path Forward

What ties these initiatives together is their recognition that cities can’t wait for federal or state action. They need to build their own capacity and develop their own solutions—whether that’s municipal banks, public grocery stores, or innovative financing mechanisms.

At HR&A, we presented on exactly this: helping cities develop public options that create sustainable alternatives to market failures. The enthusiastic response from mayors confirmed what we’re seeing in our practice: there’s both appetite and need for bold, financially viable approaches to longstanding challenges.

The Mayor’s Innovation Project gathering reminded us why this work matters. Democracy isn’t preserved through rhetoric alone—it’s sustained by delivering tangible improvements in people’s lives. Cities are where that delivery happens, and mayors are the ones making it real, every single day.

The City of East Palo Alto has officially adopted its Economic Development Strategic Plan, a milestone in efforts to support homegrown businesses, attract new investment, and position the City as “investment ready,” as stated in Palo Alto Online.  

Over the past year, HR&A and engagement partners, Kearns & West,  st, conducted in‑depth economic development research and connected with local stakeholders and more than 100 community members to shape strategies that build on East Palo Alto’s strengths — its central Silicon Valley location, affordability, and vibrant youth population — while addressing barriers to business growth. 

As the foundation for the plan’s strategies and actions, the Economic Development Strategic Plan evaluated opportunity sectors for the city, identified and built a framework for development of key opportunity sites in East Palo Alto, and provided recommendations to bolster the workforce development landscape, infrastructure funding, and public realm investments. 

We’re proud to support the city on this economic development plan and look forward to helping turn these strategies into action, fostering a future where economic opportunity and community identity thrive together.

Read the full article here.

HR&A is pleased to announce that Partner and HR&A Board of Directors Chair Candace Damon has been elected to the GBCI Board of Directors!

A leader in HR&A’s work across climate adaptation and decarbonization, Candace brings four decades of experience managing complex public-private real estate and economic development activity. She works across the breadth of HR&A’s practice areas and has developed expertise in large-scale revitalizations, including work on downtowns and waterfronts, ensuring the long-term viability of urban open space, and organizational planning for nonprofits and institutions.

We’re eager to see the GBCI’s continued impact with Candace and fellow Board member, Vance Merolla, supporting their critical mission.

Read the announcement from the GBCI here.

In a recent Seattle Times op-ed, leaders from Amazon (David Zapolsky) and Microsoft (Brad Smith) called for regulatory reforms to reduce barriers to new housing construction in Puget Sound. Their message reflects a shared reality across high-cost regions: without faster approvals, clearer rules, and more land available for housing, affordability will continue to erode.

HR&A Advisors is proud to have helped Amazon launch the $3.6B Housing Fund, a commitment to produce and preserve 35,000 affordable homes across Puget Sound, greater Washington, D.C., and Nashville. Extending this effort, HR&A’s recently co-authored a white paper with Imagine Housing showing how regulatory reforms paired with low-cost capital could enable mixed-income housing on land owned by faith communities in King County’s Eastside.

Addressing the housing shortage requires coordinated action, expanded access to land, and sustained commitment to implementation. HR&A remains committed to supporting partners advancing solutions that help communities build more homes and strengthen long-term affordability.

Read the full op-ed here.

Explore HR&A’s Imagine Housing Soft Sites Analysis here.

Anna Read joins HR&A as Principal with more than a decade of experience at the forefront of broadband policy and implementation. From managing state broadband offices to implementing the $10 billion Capital Projects Fund at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Anna has helped shape how communities nationwide approach digital infrastructure. We sat down with Anna to discuss her path to HR&A and what’s ahead for broadband policy.

Can you share a little about your background?

After earning a master’s degree in planning, I started working on rural economic development issues with local governments. Broadband kept coming up as a critical challenge, and that’s when I first became aware of its importance. The issue pulled me in, and I went to work for a state broadband office during the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, which provided funding to states through the State Broadband Initiative program to support broadband planning, mapping, and technical assistance.

That work eventually led me to The Pew Charitable Trusts, where I focused on how states were addressing broadband challenges. It was a fascinating period because the ARRA-funded offices were sunsetting, and a few states had started stepping in to fund these programs themselves and address specific needs.

From there, the opportunity came to work at the Capital Projects Fund at the Treasury Department, directly on implementation of that $10 billion American Rescue Plan Act program, which primarily funds broadband but also supports investment in digital connectivity projects and multipurpose community facilities, such as libraries.

What was the transition from working in rural economic development to broadband? Did they go hand in hand, or did you fall in love with the broadband world?

At the time, my work spanned both rural economic development and other infrastructure-related projects. There was a really interesting intersection there between infrastructure and economic development, and an emerging awareness about inequities in broadband access and the impact that was having on communities.

The broadband issue felt compelling, and with the ARRA funding, opportunities were emerging in state offices. States were primarily doing planning work, so the role involved working directly with regional councils on developing their broadband plans: understanding what they were looking for in their region, what their vision was, and the challenges that they were facing.  And there was the ongoing challenge that while states and localities were doing this planning work, they had limited input on federal infrastructure funding.  This often resulted in projects that did not align with state or local broadband needs and priorities.

What drew you to HR&A?

With the level of Federal investment over the last five years, there has been a lot of focus on broadband policy and programs. As states work through the implementation of federal funds, new and specific challenges are emerging that need creative solutions. Some states are doing really innovative work, and HR&A is partnering with them on these efforts.

One of these challenges will be the shift back from the federal level to state-driven initiatives, which creates space for fresh thinking. Those new and innovative approaches to addressing connectivity challenges are what make this work exciting.

What are you seeing around the future of the Broadband and Digital Opportunity sector? What are you anticipating over the next few years?

Over the last few years, much of the activity in the broadband space has been driven by the availability and requirements of federal funding, whether from the American Rescue Plan Act or the BEAD program. States are now in the middle of implementing those programs, and the challenges that follow federal funding implementation will be significant. Compliance policy, issues around the end of the period of federal interest — these will present new policy questions that manifest differently across states and localities. That’s been one of the persistent challenges: this problem doesn’t look the same everywhere, and solutions need to address those specific contexts.

And once the federal programs have closed out, there will likely be a shift from a federal policy-driven focus back to something resembling the period between ARRA funding and the recent wave, when states and local governments tackled specific challenges and determined their role in addressing them.  There will be a need to determine what these programs look like and the resources needed to support them once the federal funding has been expended, whether that be ongoing support for infrastructure investment or the ongoing challenges of affordability and adoption.

As we move into this next phase, understanding how unique challenges have made certain models work or fail in different places is critical. Efforts to replicate successful approaches can stumble when local conditions differ from the original environment. Given the tremendous activity over the last few years, there’s much to learn about why certain strategies worked or didn’t in specific places, and how those lessons can inform future projects in other areas.

Learn more about Anna Read.

We’re excited to share a newly published white paper from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, co-authored by HR&A Senior Principal Ignacio Montojo, Senior Analyst Harman Singh Dhodi, and Juan Sebastián Moreno. This study examines how six Colombian cities use tools that allow local governments to participate in property value increases following public investments like roads or transit, to support new and existing public services and infrastructure.

Their research found that success depends heavily on strong local government capacity and transparent processes. Cities like Marinilla, Tocancipá, and Armenia that have skilled staff, clear rules, and the ability to accurately assess property values, generate more stable revenue, and earn greater public trust. Meanwhile, cities like Bello, Gachancipá, and Valledupar struggle because they rely on outside companies or national agencies to value land, making enforcement harder and reducing transparency.

The key insight: it matters less who conducts the valuations and more that those valuations are accurate, trusted by residents, and aligned with local priorities.

The study recommends strengthening Colombia’s national cadastral authority, improving coordination between national and local governments, and investing in cities’ ability to manage these programs themselves so these tools can become a reliable, equitable funding source that reflects community needs.

Read the full paper from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy here.

Congratulations to HR&A Senior Advisor Derek Fleming on his selection to the ULI Responsible Property Investment Council (RPIC).

Derek brings more than 20 years of experience advancing people-centered, community-driven development at the intersection of real estate, culture, and economic development. His work focuses on cultural capital, centering historic, cultural, and community assets as drivers of equitable development, institutional strength, and long-term wealth creation for historically marginalized communities.

At HR&A, Derek helps policymakers, investors, and institutions navigate development in ways that preserve cultural identity while creating durable economic value. His work spans public-private partnerships, cultural districts, sports- and university-anchored development, and advising HBCUs on leveraging land and cultural assets for long-term sustainability. His portfolio also includes cultural investment and impact analysis, such as HR&A’s Forest Theater Impact Analysis in South Dallas, as well as food systems planning through projects like the Durham Farm Campus, which leverages food, land, and entrepreneurship to address food insecurity, workforce development, and generational wealth creation.

ULI’s RPIC brings together senior industry leaders from across the country committed to embedding People, Planet, and Profit into real estate investment decision-making. The Council’s focus on aligning market-rate returns with meaningful social and environmental impact closely mirrors Derek’s career-long commitment to development that builds both economic value and community power.

We’re proud to see Derek contribute his expertise in cultural capital strategy, deal structuring, and community-centered investment to this important forum. Congratulations, Derek!

This press release was originally issued by Ameren.

Study estimates company’s operations are generating more than $20.7 billion in annual economic output.

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ameren Corporation’s (NYSE: AEE) operations in Missouri and Illinois triggered more than $20.7 billion in annual economic output, according to a study by a leading market research and development firm.

Conducted by HR&A Advisors and commissioned by Ameren, the study analyzed direct spending by the company on functions such as payroll, capital equipment, supplier services, and the additional economic benefits that are generated when those investments prompt other businesses and consumers to spend money on housing, capital goods, and retail. In short, every dollar and job related to Ameren’s operations in the bi-state area are generating additional leading-wage jobs, disposable income and increased tax revenue for communities and public institutions in the bi-state region.

Study Highlights

• • Jobs: 55,200 supported by Ameren’s annual economic activity
  • Vendor/Suppliers: $2.2 billion purchased from in-state suppliers in Missouri and Illinois
  • Taxes: $920 million contributed to state and local governments
  • Philanthropy: $10.6 million in support to meet critical community needs

  “Every day, our employees, suppliers and contractors are working to strengthen and expand our energy grid, bolstering reliability and resiliency for customers, while facilitating economic expansion,” said Martin J. Lyons Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation. “The results of this economic impact study validate that our ongoing energy infrastructure investments and operations are delivering unprecedented benefits in the communities where we live and work.”

   

  The study also cites Ameren’s annual efforts to manage costs and streamline operational efficiency to help mitigate the impact of rising energy costs. Efforts to keep rates as low as possible are increasing spending power for Ameren’s residential and business customers, further contributing to economic impacts.

   

  In addition, the technical assistance provided by Ameren to new, expanding and relocating businesses created 3,728 new jobs in the company’s two-state service territory in 2025. In total, 73 economic development projects triggered $3.56 billion in capital investment by those businesses.

   

  In 2025, businesses across Ameren Missouri’s service territory created 2,273 new jobs and invested $1.56 billion. Some of those businesses include:

  • • Amazon recently completed a new 61,000-square-foot last-mile delivery station in the SEMO Industrial Park in Scott City, Missouri. Amazon also invested $15 million in capital and created 70 new jobs for the area.
    • WEG Transformers USA, a leading producer of transformers, is expanding in Washington, Missouri, investing $77 million and creating 50 new jobs.
    • IKO, a global leader in the manufacturing and supply of residential shingles, commercial roofing and waterproofing products, is investing more than $120 million in a new 220,000-square-foot facility and creating more than 50 new jobs for its subsidiary, Bismarck Granules, in Bismarck, Missouri.

    In 2025, businesses across Ameren Illinois’ service territory created more than 1,455 new jobs and invested $2 billion. Some of those businesses include:

    • • Western Smokehouse Partners, a leading co-manufacturer and private-label producer, is expanding in Galesburg, Illinois, investing $50 million and creating 180 new jobs.
      • Prysmian Group, the world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, is expanding in Du Quoin, Illinois, investing $63.8 million and creating 80 new jobs.
      • Wieland Metals, a leading global supplier of semi-finished copper and copper alloy products, is expanding in East Alton, Illinois, investing $500 million and creating 700 new full-time jobs.

      Ameren was also recently selected as one of Business Facilities magazine‘s 2026 Top Utilities for Economic Development.

       

      Additional Coverage: 

      Ameren Operations In Missouri And Illinois Drive $20.7 Billion In Annual Economic Output — SolarQuarter

      Ameren Boosts Economic Growth in Missouri and Illinois — Filmogaz

      Ameren’s Operations Generate Over $20.7 Billion in Annual Economic Output — SSB Crack

      Ameren’s two-state operations trigger $20B+ in annual economic output, says new report — Daily Energy Insider

       

With two decades of experience at the intersection of technology and public policy, Sarah brings unparalleled expertise in broadband access, digital equity, and public interest technology. She comes to HR&A fromleading roles at the Open Technology Institute and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where she helped stand up nearly $50 billion in federal broadband programs, including the landmark BEAD initiative. We sat down with Sarah to discuss her journey, what drew her to HR&A, and her vision for closing the digital divide.

Can you share a little about your background?

I’ve spent the past two decades working on broadband access and adoption issues. I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and while earning my JD and Master of Laws in space, cyber, and telecommunications law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I became interested in the dichotomy between the fast-paced transformations of the tech world and the slow evolution of the laws that govern it.

That realization brought me to Washington, DC., where I started as a fellow at Media Access Project, which provided legal support to public interest advocacy organizations working on technology policy. From there, I moved to the Open Technology Institute at New America, where I spent 12 years building the broadband access and adoption practice and ultimately serving as executive director.

In early 2022, I joined the Department of Commerce at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the agency that serves as the president’s principal adviser on tech and telecommunications issues. At NTIA, I launched grant programs to invest $50 billion to support broadband access and adoption. I led the mapping team that worked with the FCC and states to ensure broadband availability maps were ready for announcing state funding allocations.

Halfway through my tenure, I became deputy administrator, which broadened my portfolio to include public safety issues like FirstNet, our first responders network, and the Wireless Innovation Fund, which supports transformative new wireless technologies.

What brought you to HR&A?

I spent so much time in government standing up these critically important programs, and now they’re very much in the implementation phase, where the rubber hits the road. HR&A has a strong track record of supporting state broadband offices, industry partners, and communities implementing the BEAD program.

More broadly, the opportunity to work alongside colleagues across the firm on housing, healthcare, workforce development, and economic development is compelling. We can’t think about technology policy as separate from housing, healthcare, workforce development, and economic development. It’s foundational to how we solve public policy challenges today. The chance to work with incredible people on the top policy issues of our time and integrate technology into that problem-solving is what excites me about being here.

What do you see as the future of broadband and digital opportunity?

I think about this in two ways: near-term and long-term.

Near-term, we simply have to get people connected. There’s no excuse for communities to lack internet access or for people not have the tools they need to get online and actually use that access. The immediate future is finally closing the digital divide using every tool at our disposal—both inside and outside government.

Long-term, we need to understand that technology policy isn’t its own isolated thing. Technology issues are the backbone of every public policy problem we confront. The future of broadband and digital opportunity involves recognizing the wholly integrated nature of both the problem and the solution.

For example, if you look at the widespread deployment of AI tools and their rapid adoption by individuals, industries, and policymakers, you can see how the challenges these tools create aren’t limited to a narrow technology policy slice. Figuring out how to support clients and partners in thinking about these issues as fully integrated. That’s the longer-term phase of this work, and that’s where I’m focused.

Learn more about Sarah Morris.