This article talks about historic means of building wealth and how America has systematically taken the bottom rungs off the ladder. So there's another argument for small towns, where it's easier to make changes due to small local government; or starting from scratch, where you can make up your own small local government. You still have to contend with some state and federal parameters, but you can avoid a lot of those simply by doing things yourself. Most of the strings are attached to money, so if you use only the money you already have, you don't hit the strings for loans and such. You can create a place that still has at least some of the bottom rungs. Another approach, different from housing and static businesses: you can promote mobile businesses. These tend to have very low cost of entry. Buskers, street merchants, coffee carts, food trucks, antique mall booths -- they're all cheap ways to make some money. They're also heavily influenced by local regulations and enforcement. If you create a welcoming atmosphere, you can attract these small businesses and help them grow into larger businesses that put down roots. Enough buskers can turn a flyspeck into a music town that people visit to listen to the music. Street merchants and indoor booths can grow into permanent stores. You could even work to attract food carts or trucks selling healthy food and that would help save money on community health care. Because so much of this depends on regulation, you could do a lot of good for little or no expense just by checking to see if your regulations are bottom-rung-friendly. Use what you have. Is there an empty lot or unused parking lot? Almost everywhere has those. For the cost of some paint you can create a busk spot or farmer's market. Do you have a small with empty stores, or a former big-box store? Those are good for mini-stalls of any kind, and safe from inclement weather. Put the bottom rungs back on the ladder.