Neighborhoods and Labor Markets

Comprehensive Community Development in the Metropolitan Context

The “disappearance of work” in lower-income and predominately minority neighborhoods of America’s cities has been linked to a host of social ills – from family disintegration, to long-term welfare dependency to high levels of violence and crime. One prominent theory holds that spatial mismatch – suburbanization of employment without suburbanization of lower-income residents -- is responsible. Recent research strongly suggests that this theory is deeply flawed. Poverty is indeed suburbanizing, and economic analysis shows that spatial proximity appears much less important to neighborhood employment rates than other factors, such as the thinness of employment networks, racial discrimination in hiring, and the failures of public education. How have community developers responded, and where can we point to success in adopting community-centered or community-mediated solutions to these basic labor market failures? Please join moderator Carol Coletta, President of CEOs for Cities and our national panelists as they discuss these issues.

The national panel discussion convened at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and streamed live to satellite locations. Following the national discussion, a regional discussion convened at each satellite location.

Videos

Part 1: National Panel
Part 2: Regional Discussion