The plan: Use federal loan programs to buy up and renovate existing homes.

The plan: Ignite reading-buddy fever across the city by marshaling several thousand volunteers to read with struggling kids on a weekly basis. “That’s one of the easiest and most important things that needs to happen,” Love says.

The plan: Wilson spearheaded the BizMIX Challenge, a competition through which locals can submit business plans in the hopes of receiving a micro-stimulus grant to realize their vision. Any type of business will be considered, just as long as it is well thought out. “We are hoping for a lot of different types,” Wilson says. “We feel like there must be plenty of Santa Feans out there who are right on the cusp of exciting business developments and just need that final monetary push.”

The plan: Dominguez’ plan for boosting the economy is based on diversification, promoting and encouraging other enterprises that generate gross receipts taxes from sources that don’t depend on tourism.

The plan: “Ignite the entrepreneurial ecosystem” by creating a pilot program to assist selected “entrepreneurial fellows.”

The plan: The problem, Jacobs says, is multifaceted. To make Santa Fe more accessible to tech start-ups, affordable workspaces—such as the Lena Street Lofts—need to be created or professionals need alternative means of exchange; workers need the time and opportunities to throw ideas around; and the technology infrastructure needs to be improved.

The plan: Stop tinkering with an outdated school model, and start talking about types of learning that will help Santa Fe thrive today.

I have been studying cities with a group of colleagues for some time, including what makes them more or less successful. Our research shows, among other things, that a city’s success is often predicated on good infrastructure that connects city dwellers not only to the outside world, but also to their neighbors and institutions within the city, especially those that promote new ideas with economic applications.

New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program—four years old this July—has been called the most restrictive medical marijuana program in the nation. SFR has produced a guide to navigating the complexities of New Mexico’s medical cannabis program—and avoiding any pitfalls that will keep you from becoming the next big (legal) dealer in town.

When Wall Street banks started messing with North Dakota by foreclosing on farm properties nearly a century ago, the “Peace Garden State” gave big banking the finger and established its own financial institution. The farms were saved, and the Bank of North Dakota blossomed into a fiercely protected fixture in the conservative state.