Community and economic development
Community and economic development seeks to create and sustain communities that are rich with opportunity for all. Urban brings wide-ranging expertise in how to simultaneously spur economic growth and build wealth in distressed cities, towns, and neighborhoods, and promote inclusive community development in places facing displacement pressures. Our experts leverage decades of multidisciplinary research knowledge to highlight promising financing strategies and program interventions and develop policy and practice recommendations that accelerate economic opportunity.

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  • Policy Centers Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center
    Research Areas Neighborhoods, cities, and metros
    Tags Small businesses Community development finance and CDFIs

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    About

    The Urban Institute’s Community Economic Development Hub provides decisionmakers insights on effective approaches for creating and sustaining communities that are rich with opportunity for all. We bring wide-ranging expertise in how to simultaneously spur economic growth in distressed cities, towns, and neighborhoods and promote inclusive community development in places facing displacement pressures. Our experts leverage decades of multidisciplinary research knowledge to highlight promising financing strategies and program interventions and develop policy and practice recommendations that accelerate economic opportunity. We also partner with and facilitate collaboration among philanthropic, nonprofit, private, and government decisionmakers who seek to build thriving communities. The hub helps these influencers evaluate whether their investments—from upgrading neighborhood aesthetics to creating incentives for businesses to relocate to still-transforming locales—will be fruitful for both residents and enterprises of all sizes.

    Urban is helping leaders and advocates promote inclusive economies, identify solutions to underinvestment, and boost local economies through innovative workforce strategies. We build knowledge around:


    Evaluating federal economic development programs
    Through research and evaluations of federal programs administered by state and local government, including Opportunity Zones, New Market Tax Credits, and Small Business Association lending, Urban improves how state and local policymakers use federal economic development programs.

    Promoting inclusive recovery
    We report on trends in economic health and inclusion to inform how cities can harness economic recoveries to promote opportunity for all residents, particularly those who have been historically excluded.

    Comparing financing for community development initiatives
    Some localities access programs and regulatory supports that help finance community development, while others struggle to secure the same capital. Our research on the national landscape of federal community development financing, as well as city-specific research, enable decisionmakers to understand capital flows at the county level.

    Expanding CDFI impact
    Our research and convenings on community development financial institutions (CDFIs) support how CDFIs work in communities historically underserved by mainstream lenders.

    Staff
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    • Senior Research Associate
      Chair, Urban Institute Institutional Review Board
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Data Scientist
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Senior Fellow
    • Training and Technical Assistance Manager
    • Senior Policy Associate
    • Codirector
    • Research Associate
    • Vice President of Tax Policy
      Codirector, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
      Acting Robert C. Pozen Director, Tax Policy
    • Research Analyst
    • Principal Research Associate
      Codirector, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
    • Research Analyst
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Analyst
    • Vice President, Labor, Human Services, and Population
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Fellow, Research
      Practice Area Lead: Housing as a Platform
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Senior Fellow
      Director, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
    • Urban Institute Associate
    • Senior Programmer, Research
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Visiting Fellow, Research to Action Lab
      Executive Director, Mobility Alliance Incubation Hub
    • Research Assistant
    • Principal Policy Associate
    • Sol Price Fellow
      Director, State and Local Finance Initiative
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Principal Policy Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Fellow
      Research Director, Urban–Greater DC
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Senior Fellow
    • Senior Policy Program Manager
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Institute Fellow
    • Policy Program Coordinator
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