Equitable Approaches to Local Economic Development

Central city economic development during the 1980s and 1990s resounded with the theme of “public‐private partnerships” putting together new downtown hotels, sports stadiums, and festival marketplaces. Yet, as city after city proclaimed its “renaissance” and “rebirth,” poverty and unemployment increased in many of the same cities. Economic disparities also increased between central cities and their suburbs. These contrasting patterns of growth and decline were often reflected in local economic development struggles over downtown versus neighborhoods, economic development as job generation versus real estate development, and the rich and powerful versus the poor and marginalized. In some cities, these concerns often were articulated by African‐American, Latino, and blue‐collar communities and their activist supporters. They led to new development strategies designed to balance more equitably the costs and benefits of local economic development. The new strategies included opening government to previously excluded constituencies, linking downtown development to neighborhood development managed by community development corporations, and balancing development across economic sectors. This article reviews efforts in several cities to implement redistributive urban planning and local economic development policies. It concludes with three possibilities for improving broader equity outcomes in future local economic development.