Economic Development Now

As part of IEDC’s Take Action Against Racism in Economic Development webinar series, four presenters spoke about the geography of inequality and the relationship between place and economic opportunity.

Robby Habans, PhD, economist at The Data Center in New Orleans, and Robert Manduca, PhD, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, gave an overview of place-based economic disparities on a micro and macro level. Habans presented his work on how life expectancy and economic mobility can vary at the neighborhood level within a single metropolitan area. In New Orleans and across the country, data show that life expectancy in majority Black census tracts is consistently lower than in majority non-Black census tracts and that neighborhoods with shorter life expectancies are less likely to move up economically in the next generation. Manduca’s research complements Habans’ by focusing on how these disparities exist between metropolitan areas and larger regions. He believes federal policies, from trade policy to interest rates, affect regions differently. As a result, inequalities between metropolitan areas have increased over the past 40 years.

For the latter part of the discussion, Invest Atlanta’s chief equity and inclusion officer, Bonika Wilson,  and Justin Fernando, senior director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice for New York’s Local Initiatives Support Corporation, joined Habans and Manduca to discuss economic development solutions for geographic inequalities. Wilson emphasized the importance of viewing economic mobility through an equity lens because of the systemic inequities Habans and Manduca described. In Atlanta, Wilson works with the mayor to implement equity-based economic development solutions based on four key components: economic systems, education systems, people-based pathways to economic mobility, and place-based pathways. Fernando’s work focuses on dismantling racism at the intersections of these systems. Without intervention, systemic issues such as housing affordability, climate change, and inequitable patterns of education investment will only get worse for neighborhoods of color. The panelists agreed that policy options such as helping residents move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods are not permanent solutions. Habans also pointed out that declaring that some neighborhoods have less opportunity than others continues the historic legacy of devaluing neighborhoods of color.

As an example of what economic developers can do to invest in places and people, Invest Atlanta is working to build a workforce prepared for these challenges. The organization ties together economic development, community development, and workforce development by training workers in underserved Atlanta communities on green building techniques. When new businesses want to move to Atlanta, Invest Atlanta encourages them to build green buildings and connects them with the local workforce already trained in green building. By combining these elements, Invest Atlanta creates jobs and helps businesses access a well-trained local labor force. Investing in places, people, and business is a winning combination for economic development.