expanding opportunities in america’s urban areas

8/9/2019 Expanding Opportunities in America’s Urban Areas

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1 Center for American Progress | Expanding Opportunities in America’s Urban Areas

Expanding Opportunities

in America’s Urban AreasBy the Poverty to Prosperity Program and the CAP Economic Policy Team

March 23, 2015

Te naion’s ciies are he engines o he U.S. economy, creaing opporuniies or he

enire counry, including suburban, rural, and ribal areas alike. America’s op 100 mero

areas alone accoun or a leas hree-quarers o he naion’s gross domesic produc.1

Ciies bring people and firms ogeher in relaively close proximiy, which in urn drives

innovaion and leads o posiive economic benefis and growh.2

In addiion, many American ciies are leaders in global susainabiliy due o heir populaion densiy. New

York Ciy, or example, has a larger populaion han mos saes bu uses less energy han

any o hem.3 Ciies are also on he cuting edge o culure and, as such, end o atrac

residens who are acceping o people o all backgrounds and liesyles.4 For hese rea-

sons, among ohers, urban areas creae rich economic, educaional, and social opporu-

niies ha oser and encourage diversiy.

I is no surprising, hen, ha more Americans are moving o urban areas in recen years.

Beween jus 2010 and 2013, Los Angeles alone gained 65,000 people compared wih

97,000 over he enire previous decade.5

In ac, according o a sudy by he Urban LandInsiue, some o he larges segmens o he U.S. populaion, including Millennials

and Lainos, express a higher han average preerence or living in ciies.6 In addiion,

roughly 62 percen o Americans who are planning o move in he nex five years would

preer o setle in mixed-use neighborhoods, which are prevalen in urban areas.7

Despie he resurgen populariy o ciy living, many urban neighborhoods ace a

number o ongoing challenges rom he shorage o affordable housing and inad-

equae inrasrucure o income inequaliy and povery. According o he 2009 o 2013

American Communiy Survey, more han 13.9 million Americans live in neighborhoods

o concenraed poverydefined as an area where he povery rae is 30 percen or

higher.8 Te concenraed povery rae remains highes in big ciies, where almos one in

our poor residens lives in a disressed neighborhood.9 Furhermore, while povery is

increasing in he suburbs, a larger share o he poor populaion sill lives in ciies.10 Tis

concenraion o povery hurs no jus urban areas, bu also he enire naion. esearch

shows ha high-povery communiies have lower social mobiliy, which places a drag on

he overall economy.11


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A growing body o research shows ha being raised in such high-povery communiies

undermines children’s long-erm lie chances. Tis is paricularly roubling or Arican

Americans, who are disproporionaely more likely o live in disressed urban areas. Te

effecs o living in high-povery communiiessuch as poor healh and educaional ou-

comes, as well as limied employmen opporuniiesare ar reaching and generaional.

According o research by Parick Sharkey o New York Universiy, more han 70 percen

o he Arican American residens in he naion’s poores urban neighborhoods are hechildren and grandchildren o hose who lived in similar neighborhoods and condiions

40 years ago.12 As a resul, he saes, “any inervenions designed o address neighborhood

disadvanage mus reach muliple generaions o amily members.”13 However, reducions

in ederal and sae unding, along wih resricions on municipaliies’ auhoriy o raise

local revenues, mean ha local governmens are expeced o do more wih less.14

Forunaely, leaders a all levels o governmen are dedicaed o addressing hese dispari-

ies and ensuring ha more Americans benefi rom he opporuniies ciies creae. As

he U.S. Deparmen o Housing and Urban Developmen, or HUD, approaches is 50h

anniversary nex year, deparmen officials have oulined a vision o posiion he agencyo become a “Deparmen o Opporuniy.”15 HUD plans o build on exising place-based

effors such as he Promise Zones iniiaive and o parner wih ciies o help hem prepare

or anicipaed growh, address he impacs o climae change, and help amilies succeed.16

In order o effecively implemen his vision, ederal leaders mus coninue refining

he governmen’s role as a parner on hese maters and provide suppor o local lead-

ers who are on he oreron o addressing hese complex issues, ofen wih limied

resources and capaciy.

o help more clearly rame his conversaion, below are five key policy sraegies, whichinclude recommendaions rom recen American Progress repors, ha ouline specific

ways o address some o he challenges acing urban areas.

1. Establish comprehensive place-based strategies

Tere is no single policy or program ha can address he many challenges ha disressed

urban areas ace. Insead, hese communiies need a comprehensive plan ha ensures

residens live and work in communiies conducive o heir success. Such a plan would

acknowledge he inerdependen naure o challenges, including access o qualiy hous-

ing and ransporaion, barriers o securing employmen, and limied economic devel-

opmen aciviy, o name a ew. In order o address he many challenges disressed urban

areas ace, i is necessary or leaders across secors and agencies o come ogeher o

ideniy key challenges affecing heir communiy, esablish shared oucomes o address

hose challenges, and creae a join plan o acion ha builds on he srenghs o each

sakeholder group.


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Te Obama adminisraion’s Promise Zones iniiaive srives o do jus ha and is

designed o revialize high-povery communiies hrough comprehensive, evidence-

based sraegies while helping local leaders navigae ederal unding.17 Iniial obser-

vaions o he iniiaive reveal ha he ederal governmen plays a criical role by

acceleraing local effors, and he iniiaive is helping sreamline he working rela-

ionships beween local leaders and ederal officials. However, hrough research and

inerviews on he iniial rollou o he program, i is eviden ha he iniiaive can besrenghened in a number o ways moving orward.

Place greater emphasis on connections to regional opportunities

While he challenges acing urban communiies ofen plague specific neighborhoods,

soluions o he challenges can come rom ouside he borders o a neighborhood or

ciy. Communiies operae wihin a broader poliical and economic conex ha is

regional in naure, making i criical or communiies o engage leaders hroughou

he region in order o connec residens wih more opporuniies. egional parner-ships, or insance, have been paricularly helpul when i comes o employmen

opporuniies. For example, Parners or a Compeiive Workorcea cross-secor

parnership in he Ohio, Kenucky, and Indiana ri-sae regionaligns public and

nonprofi employmen resources wih employer needs. Since 2008, Parners or a

Compeiive Workorce has served more han 6,100 workers, 75 percen o whom

reained employmen afer one year.18 Te Promise Zones iniiaive should place a

greaer emphasis on he srengh o regional parnerships during he applicaion and

implemenaion phases.

Place greater emphasis on leveraging private investment

Despie ineres rom he privae secor in each o he curren zones, communiies find i

challenging o engage he privae secor in meaningul ways beyond radiional projecs,

such as housing. Federal officials should connec Promise Zones ha are acing chal-

lenges in engaging privae-secor acors wih organizaions ha can provide echnical

assisance in assessing heir local markes, he srenghs and weaknesses o differen

privae-secor parners, and build capaciy o guide invesmen oward new invesmen

opporuniies. Te U.S. Deparmen o reasury’s Communiy Developmen Financial

Insiuions, or CDFI, Fund can ideniy inermediary organizaions ha serve his

echnical assisance role.


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Establish a community of practice for local partners

In order o aciliae he exchange o ideas beween local leaders, HUD should esablish a

communiy o pracice or Promise Zones designees and provide communiies wih rain-

ing and peer-o-peer learning hrough conerence calls, webinars, and annual conven-

ings. Tis sor o exchange would ensure ha leaders are being suppored by peers going

hrough similar experiences and would help spread innovaions beween communiies.

Provide guidance on how to leverage safety net programs

Place-based iniiaives and ederal povery programs ofen operae on separae racks,

despie he ac ha hese programs have he shared goal o lifing individuals and

amilies ou o povery. However, communiies can leverage hese resources o ensure

a greaer impac or low-income populaions. As a resul, agencies overseeing saey

ne programs, such as he U.S. Deparmen o Healh and Human Services and U.S.

Deparmen o Agriculure, should issue guidance on how specific saey ne programscan be leveraged in place-based work.

2. Ensure access to quality housing and transportation

A presen, he naion’s housing recovery is neiher srong nor equiably disribued. No

only has he naional morgage marke shrunk, bu also many communiies, especially

urban areas and communiies o color, lag ar behind oher pars o he naion. While

home prices have increased in some pars o he counry, many communiies, paricu-

larly hose in disressed urban areas, are sill experiencing a heavy concenraion ooreclosures.19 In hese communiies, vacan homes coninue o depress propery values;

oser crime, bligh, and unsae condiions; and hollow ou he ax base. Moreover, hese

communiies ofen conain high concenraions o borrowers who owe more on heir

morgages han heir homes are worh.20

Te challenge o finding housing ha mees he basic needs o low-income amilies is

exacerbaed by he ac ha much o he naion’s affordable housing is no linked o he

ransporaion opions necessary or amilies o access employmen opporuniies, good

schools, resh ood, and oher ameniies. Building a 21s cenury ransporaion sysem

ha provides all residens wih high-qualiy, affordable mobiliy opions will require

several major reorms. Tese reorms include providing more direc ederal unding o

empower local leaders, removing barriers o spending ederal unds on he mos benefi-

cial projecs regardless o mode, and holding sae and local governmens accounable

or heir invesmen decisions.

Related resources

For more information on how

Promise Zones can help reshape the

federal place-based agenda, read

the CAP report “A Renewed Promise:

How Promise Zones Can Help

Reshape the Federal Place-Based

Agenda” by Tracey Ross and Erik

Stegman.


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Expand access to affordable housing

Even as housing in some urban areas is now more affordable han ever, new homeown-

ers have no been able o benefi because i has been difficul or mos amilies o ge

a morgage since he crisis. Access o credi is no jus igh compared o he housing-

bubble years, bu also according o broader hisoric sandards.21 Households o color,

which will accoun or hree-quarers o household growh over he nex decade,22 have exremely low access o he convenional morgage marke, relying insead on he

Federal Housing Adminisraion, or FHA.

A he same ime, wih homeownership difficul o access and wages sagnan, America

also aces a renal affordabiliy crisis. Hal o all reners spend more han 30 percen

o heir income on housing, he upper end o he commonly acceped definiion o

“affordable,” while 27 percen spend more han 50 percen o heir incomeboh sharp

increases over he pas decade.23 Te naion is losing is lowes-cos renal unis a more

han double he rae o oher unis, and barely one-hird o new renal unis are afford-

able o he median rener.24

Moreover, he rising cos o ren has made i harder orhouseholds in urban areas o secure qualiy housing or o cover he coss o oher house-

hold necessiies, le alone se aside money or a down paymen or oher needs.

o expand affordable housing access, CAP recommends he ollowing policies:

Prevent foreclosures and vacancies

• Te Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, which is he regulaor and conservaor

o morgage gians Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has exensive auhoriy and opporu-

niy o suppor sruggling amilies and communiies. CAP recommends ha he FHFA

engage in principal-reducion modificaions and enable borrowers who lose heir homeshrough a shor sale or oreclosure o buy back heir homes a air-marke value.25

• Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and he FHA are all rying o move pas he oreclosure

crisis by selling he disressed loans sill on heir books. Te FHA has aucioned off

more han 100,000 loans so ar, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold abou 1 mil-

lion disressed morgages ha hey will sell in he coming years.26 CAP urges boh he

FHA and FHFA o ensure ha hese sales are srucured o opimize heir benefi o

homeowners and neighborhoods in addiion o improving agency finances.27

Increase access to sustainable mortgage credit

• CAP recommends coninued suppor or FHA and ha he agency implemen poli-

cies o ensure ha lenders paricipaing in is program exend credi o all qualified

households and ha lenders coninue o offer FHA loans.28 Te FHA has played a

crucial role in supporing he naion’s economic recovery no only by prevening even

greaer caasrophic home price declines, bu also by avoiding a double-dip recession

while a he same ime supporing firs-ime homebuyers and buyers o color, who are

all poorly served by he curren convenional marke.


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• I is criical or he FHFA o esablish srong housing goals and an effecive duy-o-

serve rule or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac o ensure ha he morgage gians are

serving underserved communiies, especially communiies o color.29

Create more affordable rental housing and enable renters to save

• CAP recommends ha FHFA help address he shorage o affordable renal unis by

seting srong goals or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on affordable renal housing and by supporing he preservaion o exising affordable renal housing unis.30

• As more households ren, eiher by choice or necessiy, policymakers mus consider

new ways o help reners build savingsor else he naion is likely o see an increasing

wealh dispariy. CAP has recommended a se o bes pracices or savings programs

ha are argeed oward reners.31 For example, HUD’s Family Sel-Sufficiency, or FSS,

program allows low-income households o ener ino savings agreemens wih heir

public housing auhoriy, or PHA. Normally, when he income o a household receiv-

ing a Housing Choice Voucher or living in public housing increases, so does is ren

paymen. However, under FSS, program paricipans’ acual ren paymens remain hesame while he newly added porion is se aside in an escrow accoun or he reners o

access or any purpose afer compleing he program. Overall, FSS daa show his is a

promising saving mechanism or low-income households ha could be expanded.32

Empower local leaders

Te ederal ransporaion program is a parnership beween he ederal governmen

and sae deparmens o ransporaion. However, he curren ederal program ails

o provide local communiies wih he resources hey need o improve ransporaionperormance and provide affordable ransporaion opions or residens because he

vas majoriy o unding is direced o saes. In ac, only 6 percen o ederal highway

unds flow direcly o urban areas, even hough more han 67 percen o all vehicle miles

raveled each yearor more han 1.9 rillion milesoccur wihin urban areas.33 Te

vas majoriy o his driving is he resul o shor local rips: 73 percen o all vehicle rips

are less han 9 miles in lengh.34 As a consequence, he mos severe and economically

damaging congesion occurs wihin meropolian regions. o beter address his chal-

lenge, ederal leaders mus empower local communiies by providing hem wih more

direc ederal unding, which would allow hem o implemen projecs ha succeed in

providing essenial, efficien, and affordable mobiliy.


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Provide mode-neutral transportation funding

Te ederal-aid highway program is heavily prescripive, dicaing he ypes o projecs

ha saes mus build. As a resul, saes ofen pursue cerain ypes o highway projecs

no because hey are he mos appropriae soluion, bu because o he sricures placed

on ederal money. aher han predeermining wha projecs a sae or mero region

should build, a more effecive approach would be o allocae mode-neural unds andallow saes and regions o plan or success regardless o wheher or no he mos effec-

ive mix o projecs is exclusively ocused on highways. Tis more flexible approach

would also reflec he exen o which he needs o differen saes and mero regions can

vary across he naion. By increased modal flexibiliy, he ederal program would avoid

one-size-fis-all soluions o complex ransporaion challenges.

Hold state and local leaders accountable for improving transportation

In addiion o expanding local conrol and providing more flexible unding, he ederalprogram mus also improve overall accounabiliy. Under he curren program, saes

and mero regions are required o ollow a number o procedural seps beore hey are

allowed o expend ederal unds. Ye, hese procedural requiremens ail o capure he

ulimae effec o sae and, o a lesser exen, local invesmen decisions. Along wih

greaer unding flexibiliy, he ederal governmen should hold gran recipiens o a

higher sandard regarding he ulimae perormance oucomes rom heir invesmen

decisions. In shor, more flexibiliy wih unds mus be paired wih greaer accoun-

abiliy or success. Te mos effecive way o ensure improved perormance is o

clearly ouline a series o perormance merics agains which all gran recipiens will

be measured. Te se o measures should include no only basic elemens such as hecondiion o inrasrucure asses, bu also he gran’s economic, social, and environ-

menal impacs.

3. Support workers by eliminating barriers to employment

Expand investment in apprenticeships

In 2014, he U.S. Deparmen o Labor announced he $100 million American

Appreniceship Gran compeiion, he larges ederal invesmen in appreniceships

ever in he Unied Saes.35 Tis gran compeiion will help creae career pahways ha

are aligned wih possecondary educaion and expand appreniceships ino new high-

ech, high-demand indusries such as healh care, inormaion echnology, advanced

manuacuring, and more.36

Related resources• “Advancing a Multimodal Trans-

portation System by Eliminating

Funding Restrictions” by Kevin

DeGood and Andrew Schwartz

• “Building a 21st Century Infra-

structure: How Setting Clear

Goals, Establishing Accountability,

and Improving Performance Will

Produce Lasting and Sustainable

Prosperity” by Kevin DeGood

• “Is the FHA Distressed Asset

Stabilization Program Meeting Its

Goals?” by Sarah Edelman, JuliaGordon, and Aashna Desai

http://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Advancing%20a%20Multimodal%20System%20by%20Eliminating%20Funding%20Restrictionshttp://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Building%20a%2021st%20Century%20Infrastructurehttp://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Building%20a%2021st%20Century%20Infrastructurehttp://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Building%20a%2021st%20Century%20Infrastructurehttp://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Building%20a%2021st%20Century%20Infrastructurehttp://c/Users/cmartin/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/FEQGP1WV/Advancing%20a%20Multimodal%20System%20by%20Eliminating%20Funding%20Restrictions


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As he U.S. economy coninues o improve, many ciies are sill acing high levels o

youh unemploymen, paricularly among young people o color. Furhermore, 40 per-

cen o he young people who are mos disconneced rom he labor marke live in he

naion’s 25 larges mero areas.37

Appreniceships can make a difference. Apprenices gain a paycheck oday, deb-ree

educaion, and higher wages over heir lieimes. Workers who complee an apprenice-ship earn an average saring salary o $50,000 and earn abou $300,000 more han com-

parable workers over heir lieimes.38 Employers also benefi rom having he abiliy o

build a pipeline o skilled workers a a ime when 40 percen o U.S. employers say hey

are having a hard ime filling jobs because candidaes lack echnical compeencies.39

CAP has proposed expanding he use o appreniceships in he Unied Saes, especially

in high-growh occupaions such as inormaion echnology, healh care, and advanced

manuacuring. Among oher policies, CAP has proposed $3 billion in ederal grans

o suppor he developmen o new appreniceship programs.40 Ciies can parner wih

employers o apply or hese grans and creae new appreniceships.

Remove barriers to opportunity for Americans with criminal records

Te legacy o America’s ailed experimen wih mass incarceraion and hyper-criminal-

izaion is ha beween 70 million and 100 million Americans odayas many as one in

hreehave some ype o criminal record.41 High-povery, disadvanaged communiies

generae a disproporionae share o he Americans behind bars. As a resul, many peo-

ple wih criminal records are reurning o hese very same communiies upon release.

Urban communiies have a high number o residens wih criminal records, whichcreaes significan economic coss due o barriers o employmen aced by reurning

ciizens and hose wih criminal records. Furhermore, heir amilies also lose economic

and social suppor.42

Many individuals only have minor offenses such as misdemeanors, bu even a minor

criminal hisory carries lielong barriers o employmen, housing, educaion and rain-

ing, amily reunificaion, and even meager public assisance. I has been esimaed ha

he naion’s povery rae would have dropped by one-fifh beween 1980 and 2004 i

no or mass incarceraion and he associaed criminal records ha haun individu-

als or years, i no or lie.43 Policymakers mus hereore craf policies o ensure ha

Americans wih criminal records have a air sho a making a decen living, providing or

heir amilies, and joining he middle class. Tis will benefi no only he ens o millions

o people who ace closed doors due o a criminal record, bu also heir amilies, heir

communiies, and he economy as a whole.


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In December 2014, CAP published a repor, “One Srike and You’re Ou,” ha explored

how mass incarceraion and criminal records serve as key drivers o povery and inequal-

iy in he Unied Saes. Te repor offered a roadmap or he adminisraion, Congress,

saes and localiies, employers, and colleges and universiies o remove barriers o eco-

nomic securiy and mobiliy or Americans wih criminal records and heir amilies.44

Te repor included a new CAP ideaa “clean slae”o enable people wih criminal

records o redeem hemselves and move on wih heir lives afer hey pay heir deb osociey. CAP’s clean slae proposal would provide or auomaic sealing o low-level,

nonviolen criminal records afer individuals demonsrae heir rehabiliaion by remain-

ing crime ree or 10 years. Oher key ederal recommendaions rom he repor include:

emove barriers o employmen by enacing a ederal air-chance hiring law and

leveraging subsidized jobs as a ool or helping people wih criminal records and oher

disadvanaged workers ge a oo in he labor-marke door. CAP has proposed a naional

subsidized jobs program based on he highly successul emporary Assisance or

Needy Families Emergency Fund, which pu 250,000 Americans back o work a he

heigh o he recession.45

• emove barriers o housing by reorming he harsh and oudaed one-srike policy in

public housing.

• emove barriers o educaion and raining by expanding prison educaion and rain-

ing programs, esing he resoraion o Pell Grans or incarceraed sudens, and

removing barriers o ederal financial aid and ax credis. Spending $1 on prison edu-

caion programs saves $4 o $5 in reduced incarceraion coss in jus he hree years

afer release.46

• emove barriers o public assisance by reorming he overly puniive lieime ban on

income and nuriion assisance or people wih elony drug convicions.

• Enac smar-on-crime reorms o reduce incarceraion, such as reorming mandaory

minimums, expanding he use o alernaives o incarceraion, and expanding early-

release measures such as he good-ime credi.

• eauhorize he Second Chance Ac and ully und he Obama adminisraion’s Smar

on Crime iniiaive o suppor re-enry and reduce recidivism.

Related resources

• For more information on remov-

ing barriers for Americans with

criminal records, see “One Strike

and You’re Out: How We Can

Eliminate Barriers to Economic

Security and Mobility for People

with Criminal Records” by Rebecca

Vallas and Sharon Dietrich.

• For more information on appren-

ticeships, see “Training for Success:

A Policy to Expand Apprentice-

ships in the United States” by Ben

Olinsky and Sarah Ayres Steinberg.


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4. Spur economic development in distressed neighborhoods

Foster the role of anchor institutions in community and economic development

One parner ha is ofen absen rom he able o key sakeholders is anchor insiu-

ionscolleges, universiies, and hospialsmany o which are locaed in inner ciies.

Anchor insiuions spend billions o dollars every year on goods and services, employmillions o people, and own land across he counry. Given he amoun o ederal und-

ing ha goes oward colleges and universiies, he ederal governmen should dedicae

resources o aciliae and incenivize sraegic parnerships beween colleges, universi-

ies, hospials, and heir greaer communiies.

For example, anchor insiuions already play an imporan role in workorce develop-

men, bu linkages beween businesses and communiy and echnical colleges are ofen

weak. Te U.S. Deparmen o Educaion and he U.S. Deparmen o Labor should

work wih policymakers, accrediing bodies, and colleges and universiies o expand he

number o ariculaion agreemens in place o address his divide.

In addiion, anchor insiuions have large conracing capabiliies, spending billions o

dollars on goods and services each year ha could help small businesses in he sur-

rounding area grow. However, hese businesses ofen lack he capaciy o handle con-

racs o his size. Te ederal governmen can encourage insiuions receiving research

unding o implemen programs ha menor local disadvanaged businesses hrough

addiional unding opporuniies.

Anoher challenges is ha saff in procuremen offices are ofen comorable relying on

exising vendors, so small businesses are ofen no veted. Currenly, he Small Business Adminisraion, or SBA, suppors small-business inermediaries o provide loans o

local businesses.47 Te SBA should also provide grans o small-business inermediaries

ha are posiioned o help connec small businesses ha have he poenial o work wih

anchor-insiuion cliens.

Lasly, under he Affordable Care Ac, nonprofi hospials are required o provide ben-

efis o he communiies hey serve in order o keep heir ax-exemp saus.48 Federal

leaders should expand he definiion o communiy benefi o cover more o he social

deerminans o healh and direc hospials o work wih local leaders o ensure ha

resources are spen on shared prioriies.


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Ensure capital flows to distressed urban communities

For decades during he mid-20h cenury, urban neighborhoods suffered rom ederal

policies and financial-marke acions ha led o capial fligh and communiy desabi-

lizaion. wo ools, among ohers, have been insrumenal in reversing his rend: he

Communiy einvesmen Ac and Communiy Developmen Financial Insiuions.

For nearly 40 years, he Communiy einvesmen Ac, or CR, has encouraged finan-

cial insiuions o serve all communiies in an effor o reverse paterns o redlining and

abandonmen o low-income and minoriy neighborhoods. Te CR requires ha regu-

laors review wheher financial insiuions are serving he broader communiy hrough

heir loans, invesmens, and oher aciviies, and in he case o poor raings, regulaors

are empowered o block mergers, hereby holding banks accounable.

Federal suppor o he U.S. reasury Deparmen’s Communiy Developmen Financial

Insiuions, or CDFIs, over he pas 20 years has also enabled greaer invesmen in

underserved communiies. Tese mission-driven insiuions have spearheaded he con-srucion o affordable housing and he capializaion or expansion o small businesses in

high-povery urban areas.

o coninue meeing he needs o high-povery, underserved urban communiies, boh

programs need updaing. Te CR should be modernized o ake ino accoun broader

changes in he financial secor.49 For example, echnology has made i easier o deploy

capial and make loans in places where bank branches do no exis, bu he CR sill

largely measures banks based on where heir deposis and branches are locaed, even i

hey could be serving oher high-need areas where hey do no have a physical ooprin.

Te CR should also ake ino accoun job qualiy and local hiring when crediing banks or communiy developmen aciviies. Tese seps would creae sronger incen-

ives or CR aciviies o efficienly and effecively reach high-need communiies as he

law inended.

As or CDFIs, ederal suppor should be increased. Doubling unding or he reasury

Deparmen’s CDFI Fund, coninuing he Small Business Lending Fund, suppor-

ing saes’ small-business lending programs, and making he New Markes ax Credi

permanen would all leverage public invesmen wih privae capial o coninue urban

revializaion effors.50

Related resources

For more information on how

federal leaders can foster the role of

anchor institutions, see “Eds, Meds,

and the Feds: How the Federal

Government Can Foster the Role of

Anchor Institutions in Community

Revitalization” by Tracey Ross.


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5. Empower state and local leaders

Establish comprehensive place-based efforts in states to revitalize distressed areas

Saes have a srong sel-ineres in argeing resources o high-povery communiies

as he effecs o concenraed povery place a drag on sae economies. Federal place-

based models ha suppor localiies as hey revialize high-povery communiies areproving effecive, bu here is no need or he model o be resriced o he ederal level.

Forunaely, saes have he ools a heir disposal o inves in high-povery communiies.

For insance, saes underake mos direc spending on public goods and services and

a significan amoun o ederal discreionary unding, such as he Social Services Block

Gran and he Communiy Developmen Block Gran, is adminisered by saes. Tis

gives sae leaders broad auhoriy over many perinen ederal unding sreams.

In order o beter assis high-povery urban communiies, saes can creae heir own

place-based iniiaives o incenivize local leaders o underake a comprehensive plan-

ning process in order o ideniy key challenges on which o ocus; develop concreeoucomes o address hose challenges; and creae a shared plan o mee hose goals.

In urn, seleced communiies can be awarded wih prioriy access o exising ederal

unding sreams adminisered by saes. In addiion, wo-hirds o AmeriCorps unding

goes o governor-appoined commissions.51 Tese commissions can provide unding

and voluneers o zones seleced hroughou he sae. In 2014, AmeriCorps leveraged

more han $500 million in public and privae resources o suppor voluneers working o

improve communiies across he counry.52

Require higher workforce standards for government spending and subsidies

Urban governmens finance jobs across he economy wih he billions o dollars hey

spend each year o purchase goods and services and o subsidize privae invesmen and

job creaion. For example, he average American ciy conracs ou more han one-hird

o is basic municipal services, according o one repor.53 Unorunaely, his spend-

ing oo ofen resembles a race o he botom ha suppors bad jobs and poor value or

axpayers. Te jobs creaed hrough governmen conracing and subsidies are ofen

subsandard, paying very low wages and involving poor working condiions where

employmen law violaions are common. Such jobs no only hur America’s workers, bu

hey also undermine he qualiy o goods and services delivered o governmen agencies

and he public, ofen resuling in significan hidden coss or axpayers.

Ciies can adop high-road reorms54 o raise wages and job qualiy or conracors and

subsidy recipiens;55 ensure ha responsible employers can compee on a air playing

field or governmen conracs and subsidies;56 improve he services provided by he ciy;

and preven wase o axpayer dollars. Key sraegies o raise workplace sandards include

careully reviewing decisions o conrac work ou; prescreening conracors or responsi-


13/17


biliy; requiring high sandards or wages and benefis; providing incenives o raise wages

and benefis above he legal floor; underaking srong pos-award enorcemen; increas-

ing daa collecion and ransparency; and insiuing communiy benefis agreemens.

Take financial access into account to save consumers money

Urban governmens have he poenial o oser beter financial producs, which would

in urn pu more money in he pockes o vulnerable residens. In New York Ciy alone,

here are an esimaed 825,000 residens wihou bank accouns who each pay hundreds

or housands o dollars per year jus o manage heir moneydollars ha hey could

insead be spending locally o suppor heir amilies and he ciy’s economy.57 Ciies can

negoiae wih local financial insiuions and businesses o suppor sae and affordable

financial producs or he 6.7 million households in meropolian areas ha currenly

lack bank accouns and he nearly 17 million mero-area households ha are currenly

disconneced rom he financial sysem in some way.58 Ciies can also use local zoning

and licensing auhoriy o limi he growh o wealh-sripping financial acors such aspayday lenders ha conribue o communiy insabiliy, and ciies can offer financial

counseling services o help residens manage deb and maximize heir resources.59

Tree iniiaives in San Francisco over he pas decade demonsrae hese approaches

ha suppor o financially vulnerable consumers. In 2006, he San Francisco reasurer’s

office launched he Bank On program, an iniiaive o make low-cos bank accouns

available o housands o ciy residens hrough a parnership wih banks and credi

unions ha encouraged high-qualiy producs and ackled barriers o banking such as

idenificaion and prior closed accouns.60 Te ciy also encourages employers, including

small businesses, o swich rom paper checks o direc deposi bank accouns or high-qualiy prepaid cards o pay workers, boh o which are aser, more secure, and more

affordable pay sysems or companies and employees alike.61 San Francisco also offers

residens acing financial rouble he opporuniy o connec wih local credi unions

ha may be able o offer loans on much more avorable erms han he alernaives

offered by high-cos payday lenders in he sae.62

Moreover, urban governmens process millions o ransacions each year ha have conse-

quences or local consumers’ financial services access and affordabiliy.63 In many saes,

prepaid cards are used o disribue unemploymen insurance and oher cash benefis,

ye he conracs o deliver hese producs do no always pu consumers firs. In 2013,

low-income Caliornians los $19 million in public benefis o AM ees, parly because

access o ee-ree AMs was limied.64 Furhermore, he ways ha municipaliies accep

paymens or ees, fines, and ollssuch as limiaions on cash-only paymens or sur-

charges or using a cerain paymen mehodmay lead o higher coss or new barriers or

consumers. When local and sae governmens issue conracs or hese financial services,

hey should ake ino accoun he consumer’s botom line, as well as heir own.65

Related resources

• For more information on creating

state-level Promise Zones initia-

tives, see “A Framework for State-

Level Promise Zones” by Tracey

Ross and Melissa Boteach.

• For more information on higher

workforce standards, see “Con-

tracting that Works: A Toolkit for

State and Local Governments” by

David Madland.

• For more information about finan-

cial access, see “Financial Access

in a Brave New Banking World” byJoe Valenti and Deirdre Heiss.

• For more information on finan-

cially vulnerable populations,

see “Encouraging Responsible

Credit for Financially Vulnerable

Consumers” by Joe Valenti.


14/17


Conclusion

We are in wha HUD calls he “Cenury o Ciies,” in which urban areas around he

world are aciliaing innovaion while conribuing o heir naions’ prosperiy.66 While

many people sand o benefi rom living in urban areas across he Unied Saes, a num-

ber o people are suck in neighborhoods ha are largely isolaed rom he economic

and social benefis ha ciies creae. Leaders mus work ogeher o reverse his rend oneglec and srenghen disressed urban areas.

Te policies oulined above represen American Progress’ mos recen hinking on a

number o challenges acing urban areas. In addiion o hese specific issues, disressed

urban areas ace a number o challenges in areas ha mach American Progress’ exper-

ise, including healh, educaion, and energy and environmen policy. Tis brie is mean

o lay he oundaion or an ongoing conversaion abou how o equip residens o

disressed urban areas wih he skills hey need o prosper, as well as o creae an envi-

ronmen conducive o heir success. In he words o Presiden Barack Obama, “A child’s

course in lie should be deermined no by he zip code she’s born in, bu by he srengho her work ehic and he scope o her dreams.”67

Acknowledgments

Tis brie compiles he previously published work o boh CAP’s Povery o Prosperiy

Program and is Economic Policy eam and represens he work o Carmel Marin,

Melissa Boeach, David Madland, Julia Gordon, Kevin DeGood, ebecca Vallas,

Joe Valeni, racey oss, Sarah Edelman, Brendan Duke, and Sarah Ayres Seinberg.


15/17


Endnotes

1 Joel Rogers and Satya Rhodes-Conway, “Cities at Work:Progressive Local Policies to Rebuild the Middle Class”(Washington: Center for American Progress Action Fund,2014), available at https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/report/2014/02/04/83356/cities-at-work/.

2 Michael E. Porter, “Location, Competition, and Economic

Development: Local Clusters i n a Global Economy,” Eco-nomic Development Quarterly 14 (1) (2000): 15–34, availableat http://ibr.hi.is/sites/ibr.hi.is/files/Location__Competi-tion_and_Economic_Development__Local_Clusters_in_a_Global_Economy.pdf ; Mark Muro and Bruce Katz, “The New‘Cluster Moment’: How Regional Innovation Clusters CanFoster the Next Economy” (Washington: Metropolitan PolicyProgram at Brookings, 2010), available at http://www.brook-ings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2010/9/21%20clusters%20muro%20katz/0921_clusters_muro_katz.pdf .

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 William H. Frey, “A Big City Growth Revival?”, The BrookingsInstitution, May 28, 2013, available at http://www.brook-ings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/28-city-growth-frey.

6 Urban Land Institute, “America in 2013: A ULI Survey of

Views on Housing, Transportation, and Community ” (2013),available at http://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Docu-ments/America_in_2013_web.pdf .

7 Ibid.

8 Thomas Gabe, “Poverty in the United States: 2013” (Wash-ington: Congressional Research Service, 2015), available athttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33069.pdf .

9 Elizabeth Kneebone, “The Growth and Spread of Concen-trated Poverty, 2000 to 2008–2012” (Washington: The Brook-ings Institution, 2014), available at http://ww w.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2014/concentrated-poverty#/M10420.

10 Alan Berube and Elizabeth Kneebone, “Parsing U.S. Povertyat the Metropoli tan Level,” The Brookings I nstitution,September 22, 2011, available at http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2011/09/22-metro-poverty-

berube-kneebone.

11 Ben Olinsky and Sasha Post, “Middle-Out Mobility: Regionswith Larger Middle Classes Have More Economic Mobility”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2013), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/09/04/73285/middle-out-mobility/.

12 Richard Florida, “The Persistent Geography of Disadvan-tage,” CityLab, July 25, 2013, available at http://www.citylab.com/housing/2013/07/persistent-geography-disadvan-tage/6231/.

13 Ibid.

14 Living Cities, “State of the Cities: 5 Trends ImpactingAmerica’s Cities” (2013), available at https://www.livingcities.org/blog/288-announcing-the-release-of-state-of-the-cities-5-trends-impacting-america-s-cities.

15 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

“HUD’s Vision,” available at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/hudvision (last accessed March 2015).

16 Ibid.

17 Tracey Ross and Erik Stegman, “A Renewed Promise: HowPromise Zones Can Help Reshape the Federal Place-BasedAgenda” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/pov-erty/report/2014/05/20/90026/a-renewed-promise/.

18 Partners for a Competitive Workforce, “Participant Employ-ment and Earnings Outcomes” (2013), available at http://actfdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Report-Partici-pantEmploymtEarningsOutcomes_10-17-13.pdf .

19 Peter Dreier and others, “Underwater America: How theSo-Called Housing Recovery is Bypassing Many AmericanCommunities” (Berkeley, CA: Haas Institute for a Fairand Inclusive Society, 2014), available at http://diversity.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/HaasInsitute_UnderwaterA-merica_PUBLISH_0.pdf ; Michael L. Hanley and Ruhi Maker,“In the Eye of the Storm: Why the Threat of ForeclosureDamage Continues” (New York: Empire Justice Center, 2015),available at http://www.empirejustice.org/assets/pdf/pub-lications/reports/monroe-report--in-the-eye-of-the-storm/report-in-the-eye-of-the-storm.pdf .

20 Dreier and others, “Underwater America.”

21 Laurie Goodman, Jun Zhu, and Taz George, “Where HaveAll the Loans Gone: The Impact of Credit Availability onMortgage Volume” (Washington: Urban Institute, 2014),available at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/413052-Where-Have-All-the-Loans-Gone.pdf.

22 Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University,“The State of the Nation’s Housing 2014” (2014), available athttp://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/jchs.harvard.edu/files/sonhr14-color-full.pdf.

23 David Abramowitz and Sarah Edelman, “As More House-holds Rent, How Can We Encourage Them to Save?”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014), available

at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-loads/2014/09/RenterSavings-brief.pdf .

24 Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University,“Rental Housing Supply” (2013), available at http://www. jchs.harvard.edu/sites/jchs.harvard.edu/files/ahr2013_03-supply.pdf.

25 Julia Gordon, “Inequality, Opportunity, and the Hous-ing Market: Testimony before the Senate Committee onBanking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee onHousing, Transportation, and Community Development”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/housing/report/2014/12/23/103730/inequality-opportunity-and-the-housing-market/; John Griffith, “Time to Make an OfferFHFA Can’t Refuse: Federal Housing Finance Agency Needsto Embrace Loan Principal Reduction,” Center for AmericanProgress, August 2, 2012, available at https://www.ameri-canprogress.org/issues/housing/news/2012/08/02/12004/

time-to-make-an-offer-fhfa-cant-refuse/.

26 Sarah Edelman, Julia Gordon, and Aashna Desai, “Is theFHA Distressed Asset Stabilization Program Meeting ItsGoals?” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014),available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Edelman-DASP-report.pdf .

27 Edelman, Gordon, and Desai, “Is the FHA Distressed AssetStabilization Program Meeting Its Goals?”; Letter from Rightto the City and others to Biniam Gebre, February 4, 2015,available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DASP-Consensus-Recommendations.pdf.

28 Julia Gordon, “The Importance of the Federal HousingAdministration in the Housi ng Market: Testimony beforeSubcommittee on Housing and Insurance” (Washing-ton: Center for American Progress, 2015), available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/housing/re-port/2015/03/09/108121/the-future-of-housing-in-america/ .

29 Gordon, “Inequality, Opportunity, and the Housing Market”;Michela Zonta, “The Unequal Mortgage Market Is No Coin-cidence,” Center for American Progress, October 20, 2014,available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/housing/news/2014/10/20/99320/the-unequal-mortgage-market-is-no-coincidence/; Michela Zonta, “Do the GSEsMeet the Credit Needs of Underserved Communities ofColor?”, Cityscape, forthcoming.

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.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2011/09/22-metro-poverty-berube-kneebonehttp://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2011/09/22-metro-poverty-berube-kneebonehttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33069.pdfhttp://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/America_in_2013_web.pdfhttp://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/America_in_2013_web.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/28-city-growth-freyhttp://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/28-city-growth-freyhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2010/9/21%20clusters%20muro%20katz/0921_clusters_muro_katz.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2010/9/21%20clusters%20muro%20katz/0921_clusters_muro_katz.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2010/9/21%20clusters%20muro%20katz/0921_clusters_muro_katz.pdfhttp://ibr.hi.is/sites/ibr.hi.is/files/Location__Competition_and_Economic_Development__Local_Clusters_in_a_Global_Economy.pdfhttp://ibr.hi.is/sites/ibr.hi.is/files/Location__Competition_and_Economic_Development__Local_Clusters_in_a_Global_Economy.pdfhttp://ibr.hi.is/sites/ibr.hi.is/files/Location__Competition_and_Economic_Development__Local_Clusters_in_a_Global_Economy.pdfhttps://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/report/2014/02/04/83356/cities-at-work/https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/report/2014/02/04/83356/cities-at-work/https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/report/2014/02/04/83356/cities-at-work/


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30 Gordon, “Inequality, Opportunity, and the HousingMarket”; Letter from the Center for American Progress andthe Consumer Federation of America to Alfred Pollard,October 28, 2014, available at https://www.fhfa.gov//SupervisionRegulation/Rules/Pages/Comment-Detail.aspx?CommentId=12258; Letter from the Center for Ameri-can Progress to Federal Housing Finance Agency, May 15,2014.

31 David Abramowitz and Sarah Edelman, “As More House-holds Rent, How Can We Encourage Them to Save?”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014), availableat https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-

loads/2014/09/RenterSavings-brief.pdf .

32 Ibid.

33 Kevin DeGood and Andrew Schwartz, “Advancing aMultimodal Transportation System by Eliminating FundingRestrictions” (Washington: Center for American Progress,2015), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/DeGood_Highways_reportUP-DATE.pdf .

34 Ibid.

35 Secretary Tom Perez, “An Unprecedented Investment InApprenticeship,” U.S. Department of Labor Blog, Dec ember11, 2014, available at http://blog.dol.gov/2014/12/11/an-unprecedented-investment-in-apprenticeship/.

36 Ibid.

37 Edwin Torres, “Tackling the Youth Unemployment Crisis,” The Rockefeller Foundation Blog, May 2, 2014, available athttp://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/tackling-youth-unemployment-crisis.

38 U.S. Department of Labor, “Quick Facts,” available at http://www.dol.gov/apprenticeship/quick-facts.htm (last accessedMarch 2015).

39 ManpowerGroup, “2012 Talent Shortage Survey” (2012),available at http://www.manpowergroup.us/campaigns/talent-shortage-2012/pdf/2012_talent_shortage_survey_results_us_finalfinal.pdf.

40 Ben Olinksy and Sarah Ayres Steinberg, “Training for Suc-cess: A Policy to Expand Apprenticeships in the UnitedStates” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2013),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/la-bor/report/2013/12/02/79991/training-for-success-a-policy-to-expand-apprenticeships-in-the-united-states/.

41 The U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, reports that 100.5million Americans have state criminal histor y records onfile. Some organizations, such as the National EmploymentLaw Project, or NELP, have contended that this figure mayoverestimate the number of people with criminal records,as individuals may have records in multiple states. NELPthus suggests reducing the DOJ figure by 30 percent. With2012 data, this yields an estimate of 70.3 millio n individualswith criminal records. However, NELP concedes that thisfigure is almost certainly an underestimation. For the DOJdata, see Bureau of Justice Statistics, Survey of State CriminalHistory Information Systems, 2012 (U.S. Department of Jus-tice, 2014), available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/244563.pdf . For a discussion of NELP’s methodologythat yields a more conservative estimate using 2008 data,see Michelle Natividad Rodriguez and Maurice Emsellem,“65 Million ‘Need Not Apply’: The Case For ReformingCriminal Background Checks For Employment” (New York:National Employment Law Project, 2011), available at http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/2011/65_Million_Need_Not_

Apply.pdf?nocdn=1.

42 Marla McDaniel and others, “Imprisonment and Disenfran-chisement of Disconnected Low-Income Men” (Washington:Urban Institute, 2013), available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/13/LowIncomeMen/Imprisonment/rpt_imprisonment.pdf.

43 Robert H. DeFina and Lance Hannon, “The Impact of MassIncarceration on Poverty ,” Crime and Delinquency 59 (4)(2009): 562–586, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1348049.

44 Rebecca Vallas and Sharon Dietrich, “One Strike and You’reOut: How We Can Eliminate Barriers to Economic Securit yand Mobility for People with Criminal Records” (Washington:Center for American Progress, 2014), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/VallasCriminalRecordsReport.pdf .

45 Rachel West, Rebecca Vallas, and Melissa Boteach, “A Subsi-dized Jobs Program for the 21st Century: Unlocking Labor-Market Opportunities for All Who Seek Work” (Washington:Center for American Progress, 2015), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SubsidizedJobs-report3.pdf .

46 Lois M. Davis and others, “Evaluating the Effectiveness ofCorrectional Education” (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corpora-tion, 2013), available at http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR266/RAND_RR266.pdf.

47 The White House, “Supporting Small Businesses and Creat-ing Jobs,” available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/factsheet/supporting-small-businesses-and-creating-jobs (last accessed March 2015).

48 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “What’s new with com-munity benefit?” (2012), available at http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2012/rwjf402124.

49 Joe Valenti and Julia Gordon, “Small Steps Toward aModernized Community Reinvestment Act,” Centerfor American Progress, January 12, 2015, available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/

news/2015/01/12/104146/small-steps-toward-a-modern-ized-community-reinvestment-act/.

50 Jennifer Erickson and Michael Ettlinger, eds., “300 MillionEngines of Growth: A Middle-Out Plan for Jobs, Business,and a Growing Economy” (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2013), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/06/13/66204/300-million-engines-of-growth/.

51 Corporation for National and Community Service, “NationalService: A Resource for Governors” (2012), available athttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/docu-ments/11_01_31_governors_fs.pdf .

52 Corporation for National and Community Service, “NationalService Agency Announces $205 Million in AmeriCorpsFunding,” Press release, May 7, 2014, available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/national-service-agency-announces-205-million-americorps-funding.

53 The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, “Forthe Good of the People: Using Public-Private Partnerships ToMeet America’s Essential Needs” (2013), available at http://www.ncppp.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WPForth-eGoodofthePeople.pdf.

54 David Madland and others, “Contracting that Works: A Toolkit for State and Local Governments” (Washington:Center for American Progress Action Fund, 2010), availableat https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/report/2010/03/31/7444/contracting-that-works/.

55 Rogers and Rhodes-Conway, “Cities at Work.”

56 Karla Walter and David Madland, “Executive Order ProtectsWorkers and Suppo rts Law-Abiding Contractors,” Centerfor American Progress Action Fund, July 31, 2014, availableat https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/news/2014/07/31/94923/executive-order-protects-workers-and-supports-law-abiding-contractors/.

57 Joe Valenti and Deidre Heiss, “Financial Access in a BraveNew Banking World” (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2013), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/FreeCheckingReport.pdf.

58 Susan Burhouse and others, “2013 FDIC National Survey ofUnbanked and Underbanked Households” (Washington:Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 2014), available athttps://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2013appendix.pdf .

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59 Joe Valenti, “Encouraging Responsible Credit for FinanciallyVulnerable Consumers” (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2014), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ShortTermLending-2.pdf .

60 Valenti and Heiss, “Financial Access in a Brave New BankingWorld.”

61 Ibid.

62 Valenti, “Encouraging Responsible Credit for FinanciallyVulnerable Consumers.”

63 Joe Valenti, “The End of Cash: The Rise of PrepaidCards, Their Potential, and Their Pitfalls” (Washing-ton: Center for American Progress, 2013), available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/04/04/59277/the-end-of-cash-the-rise-of-prepaid-cards-their-potential-and-their-pitfalls/.

64 Chris Megerian, “Banks profit from fees paid by Californiawelfare recipients,” Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2014,available at http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/25/local/la-me-welfare-fees-20140326.

65 Valenti, “The End of Cash.”

66 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,“HUD’s Vision.”

67 Megan Slack and Alicia Oken, “President Obama: ‘A child’scourse in life should be determined not by the zip codeshe’s born in,’” The White House Blog, January 10, 2014,

available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/10/promise-zones-child-s-course-life-should-be-determined-not-zip-code-she-s-born.

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