Inclusive prosperity is the idea that the opportunity and benefits of economic growth should be widely shared by all segments of society. Most cities fall well short of that ideal. While urban areas continue to afford new opportunities to employees and businesses from all walks of life, they are increasingly split between wealthy, high-skill knowledge workers and low-paid service workers.
What Inclusive Urban Development Can Look Like
Large cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as leading tech and knowledge hubs like Seattle and San Francisco, have experienced gentrification, economic segregation, and a disappearing middle class. Cities can do better. The revitalization of the 45-acre Union Market district in Northeast Washington, DC., has provided a laboratory for testing practical policies and initiatives that can promote inclusive prosperity. It offers lessons for other cities, based in research and born out in practice, including: create jobs that pay living wages and inspire pride in the community; foster a sense of community at the street level; design for inclusion; and create housing options that are both attractive to the community and conveniently located. City officials and real estate developers can work together to combine short-term flexibility with long-term thinking.