Place
A thriving economy requires well-built, well-placed, well-maintained physical infrastructure—everything from roads, bridges, and ports to housing, offices, schools, and public spaces.
How, where, and whether we build shapes a region’s economic trajectory. It determines who has access to jobs and opportunity and how businesses get goods and services to market. Every place-based investment brings costs, benefits, and tradeoffs. ECOnorthwest combines sophisticated analytics and innovative modeling to ground development and transportation decisions. We sort through options, create scenarios, and evaluate impacts to help policymakers build productive, equitable communities.
Explore Focus Areas
- placeholder
- Housing Affordability
- Economic Development
- Building Equitable Communities
- Development Feasibility Assessment
- Growth Management
- Implementation of Area Plans and Master Plans
- Infrastructure Finance and Implementation
- Congestion Pricing and Tolling
- Access to Programs and Services
Select an option to view.
Housing Affordability
Across the US, people face rising costs for basic needs, economies struggle to stay competitive, and homelessness rates continue to grow. Communities facing this affordability crisis need independent perspectives to help them create better outcomes for more people.
ECOnorthwest offers deep knowledge of housing and development markets, affordable housing finance, zoning and land use, regulatory barriers, housing access programs, and funding sources. We have developed Housing Needs Analyses and affordable housing strategies for dozens of jurisdictions around the country, and we are on the front lines of middle housing research.
Our experienced team can design and evaluate your housing-related policies and programs. Rooted in economics, our interdisciplinary approach reveals a broader picture of how policy choices affect peoples’ lives. You'll get the guidance you need to increase housing production, affordability, and access.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Demographic Analysis
Spatial Analytics
Economic Development
To survive the storm, economies need to be resilient. ECOnorthwest helps urban and rural communities across the US take two key actions: 1) prepare for economic shocks and changing markets; and 2) provide people with the assets they need to thrive during change. We combine urban economics, economic forecasting, fiscal impact analysis, and development finance to create realistic and usable products.
Our integrated approach helps policymakers, developers, and community members understand the whole picture. You'll get the guidance you need to navigate turbulent economic forces and create resilience that leads to sustainable growth, innovation, and equitable prosperity.
We incorporate urban economics, economic forecasting, fiscal impact analysis, and development finance to produce realistic products policymakers and practitioners can use. Our products have helped urban and rural communities across the country understand how to navigate the fluidity of economic forces to create economic resilience, fostering sustainable growth, and innovation.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Interviews and Focus Groups
Program and Policy Evaluation
Case Studies, Best Practices Research, and Literature Reviews
Building Equitable Communities
In our Building Equitable Communities practice, we work alongside communities to improve well-being and utilize the built environment to achieve more equitable outcomes. We begin with an outlook that visualizes desired results and is grounded in an understanding of the histories and systems at play. By synthesizing community members’ lived experience with our expertise in real estate development, urban planning, sociology, and public policy, our interdisciplinary team delivers recommendations to help communities thrive.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Interviews and Focus Groups
Case Studies, Best Practices Research, and Literature Reviews
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Equitable Impact Analysis
Development Feasibility Assessment
Changes in development regulations, capital markets, market conditions, and government investments can all have an impact on what types of development are feasible at any given time.Â
ECOnorthwest conducts feasibility assessments for a diverse range of projects, including market-rate and affordable housing, energy projects, wind farms, health centers, public markets, and marine terminals as well as hotels, commercial real estate, mixed-use development, sports venues, casinos, and more.
We help public-sector clients understand how policies, regulations, investments, and other actions can support (or inhibit) the types of development they want to see in their communities. And we help private-sector clients understand the demand for new real estate and specialized facilities.
Our assessments can help you determine actionable projects and how they contribute to the well-being of your community.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Demographic Analysis
Land Use Modeling
Growth Management
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Demographic Analysis
Interviews and Focus Groups
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Land Use Modeling
Implementation of Area Plans and Master Plans
Land use policies, area plans, and infrastructure funding strategies can make a positive impact on the people who live and work in a region. But changing market conditions can affect a project's potential to contribute to community prosperity and growth.
ECOnorthwest helps cities and teams of architects, designers, engineers, and planners shape a better, more sustainable future for their communities.
Our interdisciplinary team will help you determine the steps to take and the funding you'll need to successfully implement well-designed strategies. We’ll give you insights you can use to have a positive impact on your community’s future.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Fiscal Analysis and Revenue Forecasting
Demographic Analysis
Infrastructure Finance and Implementation
Communities need a solid foundation to grow and prosper. ECOnorthwest works with local and regional agencies to identify and close funding gaps for capital projects and operations/maintenance.
Our interdisciplinary team understands the challenges and opportunities presented by impact fees, public-private partnerships, tax increment financing, bonds, levies, grants, special assessment districts (LIDs, BIDs, EFIDs, etc.), user fees, exactions, and other mechanisms.
We’ll give you the guidance you need to weigh trade-offs related to revenue potential, timeliness, impacts to development or other economic activity—as well as those tied to equity, administrative burden, legal limitations, and political viability.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Fiscal Analysis and Revenue Forecasting
Land Use Modeling
Real Estate and Market Analysis
Congestion Pricing and Tolling
Regions and communities need effective traffic management to function. ECOnorthwest provides innovative, feasible approaches to congestion challenges. Our interdisciplinary team has partnered with tolling system operators across the country to help advance policy and leverage hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the effectiveness of transportation systems.
We’ll give you the guidance you need to design congestion pricing and tolling systems that achieve your policy outcomes, address the needs of toll operators, and improve your community's overall transportation experience.
Selected Projects
Common Tools and Methods
Fiscal Analysis and Revenue Forecasting
Spatial Analytics
Access to Programs and Services
Families and individuals, especially BIPOC and those from other marginalized groups, often face barriers to accessing programs and services they need. Roadblocks to child care, education, job training, health care, park use, high-speed internet, and more can create or exacerbate inequities.
ECOnorthwest’s cross-disciplinary approach brings economics, sociology, and policy analysis together to evaluate how your existing or proposed service levels compare to the needs of the community. With your goals in mind, our team of experts develops program and service availability recommendations that create inclusive systems and move your community closer to shared prosperity.
