Economic Development

Growing up poor is a challenge—and growing up in a poor neighborhood is even more challenging. Because community distress undermines individual outcomes and trajectories, place-based strategies have played a role in anti-poverty efforts. The notion that we need to think of distressed neighborhoods in a broader metropolitan context, is relatively new. We argue that this approach—considering place in metropolitan context, seeing neighborhoods as a platform for mobility, and understanding the critical role of organizing—could move the needle on poverty. The new administration understands this framework, but applying it across agencies and programs requires conscious effort and commitment.

Rolf Pendall, an expert on land use controls and the former director of graduate studies in city and regional planning at Cornell University, joined the Urban Institute today as the director of the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center.

Many of the nation's older, industrial cities have experienced a sharp drop in jobs and population over the last several decades, and the recession has only aggravated this problem. The federal government's role in addressing urban decline has historically been uncoordinated and inconsistent, even as these cities are home to invaluable institutional and physical assets. If the government chooses to promote remediation and growth, a new unified approach will be required. This paper examines the causes and effects of widespread urban decline and proposes strategies for a renewed federal response that targets assets and facilitates new uses for vacant space.

The U.S. Postal Service, once the centerpiece of American commerce and communications, is fighting for its life. The Urban Institute's Nancy Pindus scans the Postal Service's varied benefits and asks, What are Americans willing to pay or give up to keep it afloat?

The objective of this study, commissioned by the Postal Regulatory Commission, was to identify the array of benefits provided by the United States Postal Service—through its mail service and post offices—that contribute to the social value of the post. We provide a framework that categorizes benefits, beneficiaries, and measures. We also identify possible metrics and methods for estimating the value of these benefits. Research in community and economic development supports the concept of post offices as community assets and of the value of social connectedness and civic engagement, two social benefits frequently associated with postal services. This study provides an organizing scheme for detailed analysis and quantification in the future.