Communities throughout the United States are facing decisions about how to use federal resources to advance local development efforts. These choices can either foster greater fairness within their regions or reinforce entrenched disparities embedded within our nation's legal frameworks and programs. To achieve greater equity, federal funds should be used in a way that guarantees inclusive participation in and benefits from economic expansion, particularly for historically marginalized groups.

To help inform these decisions, previous Urban Institute work identified key lessons and common building blocks that can support progress toward equity and inclusion during a city’s economic recovery. The five building blocks of equitable local economies are:

• Create high-quality jobs for residents who face the greatest barriers to employment;
• Connect residents to jobs and economic opportunities, especially those who face the greatest barriers to employment;
• Reinvest in disinvested communities and address long-standing disparities in access to education, capital, economic opportunities, and climate resilience;
• Stabilize housing and expand affordable housing options for households with low incomes and renters who are housing insecure; and
• Create wealth-building opportunities for households with low wealth.

In this summary, we highlight examples of communities across the US that are using federal funding to support projects within each of these building blocks. We begin with an example of green job creation in rural Washington, then move onto a transit initiative in Albany, New York, that is helping to connect residents to jobs. We then highlight a project in Tampa, Florida, that is working to reinvest in a community that was previously separated from opportunity by a highway, and an initiative in Boston that is working to stabilize housing by transforming publicly owned land into sustainable housing for mixed-income communities. We end with a guaranteed income initiative in Cook County, Illinois, which could create opportunities for low-wealth households to build wealth.