Welcome to the Equity Factor, Next City’s new economic development blog. Every day I will be exploring ways to keep cities growing without sacrificing the things we love about them: Diversity, affordability, character and inclusiveness.
In the last generation, we’ve seen many cities grow and thrive, but we’ve also seen troubling increases in wealth disparities and displacement. Through this column, we will examine how to sustain growth but end its uglier consequences.
If you’re a staunch defender of Starbucks and stadiums as a way to spur growth, you may be in the wrong place. Unless, of course, you’d like to stick around and learn how both the public and private sectors can improve communities through new strategies for procurement, value capture tactics and other progressive ideas that build equity at the neighborhood level, for everyone in the neighborhood. We want to build communities that last.
I’ll be chiming in on the blog with a column every morning (night and afternoon, too), but this is a constantly evolving conversation. If I hit a wrong note and write something deeply stupid about your city, tell me. Got a tip about a meeting with a local developer that’s closed to reporters? Send it my way. Want me to come on your podcast to rant about the publicly financed water park in your hometown, by all means, call me. If you have a question and don’t want Google targeting “economic development” ads in your Gmail inbox, leave a note in the comments.
We know we can’t continue to build cities the way we do, but we’re still figuring out what works best. That’s what is at the heart of the Equity Factor: curiosity. How can cities grow their economy and build greater equity for all residents?
The Equity Factor is made possible with the generous support of the Surdna Foundation.
The Equity Factor is made possible with the support of the Surdna Foundation.
Bill Bradley is a writer and reporter living in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in Deadspin, GQ, and Vanity Fair, among others.
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