Small Developers, Big Impact: Growing Community from Within

Across the country, communities are calling for walkable neighborhoods, vibrant main streets, and reinvestment in legacy areas. Yet the systems we use to build cities are scaled for large, institutional development, leaving a gap between our plans and reality. This presentation explores how planners can empower small-scale, often self-taught, developers who are quietly revitalizing neighborhoods with incremental, context-sensitive projects.

Learn how to identify and dismantle systemic barriers - such as zoning misalignment, financial disconnects, and social isolation - that prevent small-scale development from thriving. Through real-world examples from Kansas City, Missouri, presenters highlight practical tools including meet-up models, mentorship programs, and ecosystem mapping to foster collaboration and build local capacity.

Leave with actionable strategies to support inclusive development, including how to right-size incentives, advocate for regulatory reform, and cultivate networks that elevate underrepresented voices. By shifting focus from large-scale solutions to grassroots builders, planners can unlock new pathways for equitable, resilient, community-driven change.
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