On Solutions: Public or Private
Solutions to the problem of wealth inequality
Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and President, PolicyLink

Many American communities, particularly low-income communities of color, have not shared in this period of unprecedented economic prosperity. Despite prior improvements in wealth accumulation trends among low-income individuals, the past two decades have witnessed a growing wealth gap. This inequality, increasingly driven by urban sprawl, has become a pervasive feature of the American economic landscape as once thriving urban centers have lost job and business opportunities to the near and far suburbs.

The mission of PolicyLink is to advance a new generation of policies that achieve social and economic equity and build strong organized communities. Economic and social equity cannot be achieved without understanding the place, the means, the tools, and the process for achieving equity. The place is the region because no longer can inequality be solved by focusing only on the problems of inner-city communities. The means to achieve equity is through the economy. The tools for achieving equity are available through technology. The process for achieving equity is democracy.

In thinking about policies and strategies that work to achieve equity, much attention is being paid to integrating people and place strategies. For instance, in the regional context, if workforce development, a people strategy, is done separately from transportation, a place strategy, a mis-match occurs, with low-income inner-city residents unable to get to entry-level jobs in the suburbs. An integrated approach enables low-income residents throughout a region to gain access to the jobs that will help them to support their families and move forward.

PolicyLink advocates a framework of equitable development to address the dynamic of regional growth that has left many inner-city residents, primarily people of color, cut off from economic prosperity. Equitable development seeks to ensure that low-income residents benefit from the revitalization in their neighborhoods instead of being displaced by the forces of gentrification. Equitable development emphasizes policies and practices that promote economic and social benefits for all residents of a metropolitan region. This framework fosters healthy and vibrant communities and contributes to the prosperity of entire regions. Strategies that promote equitable development include community land trusts that give local communities control over land designated for development; and housing trust funds that preserve and increase the stock of affordable housing.

PolicyLink is involved in two projects seeking to achieve equitable development in California. One is the Community Capital Investment Initiative - a collaboration between business, community, and government partners focused on creating greater access to capital for low-income residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Another is focused on examining the equity implications of subsidies that cities and counties give to businesses in four regions of California. The project is seeking to provide a model for determining who benefits from these subsidies and how the subsidies can be linked to tangible community benefits for low-income residents, such as jobs at a living wage.

The work of achieving equity also involves giving people a stake in the economy and building wealth and assets in low-income communities. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) have enabled low-income people to accumulate savings for pre-approved purposes such as purchasing a home, paying for post-secondary education, or starting a small business. Other approaches now being explored include linking the IDA model to wider community development goals and using Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as a vehicle for building resident ownership in real estate and commercial development projects.

Solutions exist to achieve and advance equity. These solutions build on the bedrock principles of democracy- equitable opportunity structures, broad economic participation, and broad civic engagement. They involve low-income residents coming together with professionals and other sectors, such as business and government, in a community-building process to chart new destinies. This is the approach that is needed to revitalize democracy and build sustainable solutions for America.