Research Report Opportunity Neighborhoods
Building the Foundation for Economic Mobility in America’s Metros
Margery Austin Turner, Solomon Greene, Ruth Gourevitch

This paper lays out a proposal to test whether a coordinated regional strategy—planned and executed over a decade and supported by residents’ voices and power—can reverse the 20th century legacy of segregation, disinvestment, and exclusion. We recommend investing in institutional capacity building, monitoring, and continuous learning to achieve and sustain real progress in improving neighborhood quality and access to opportunity. Specifically, we propose developing and implementing “opportunity neighborhood” plans in select metropolitan regions that test strategies to

  • restore well-being and opportunity to historically distressed neighborhoods,
  • preserve affordable housing in revitalizing neighborhoods, and expand access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods for people living in distressed communities.
Research Areas Neighborhoods, cities, and metros Social safety net Race and equity Immigrants and immigration
Tags Poverty Racial and ethnic disparities Immigrant communities demographics and trends Racial segregation Inequality and mobility Community and economic development Federal, state, and local immigration and integration policy Immigrant communities and racial equity Racial barriers to accessing the safety net Racial inequities in neighborhoods and community development