Shared Prosperity in America's Communities (The City in the Twenty-First Century) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081224785X ISBN 13: 9780812247855

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016

Synopsis

While the nation's GDP has doubled in the last thirty years, significant increases in family income have been restricted to a small subset of the American population. This disjunct between national economic growth and stagnating incomes in all but the very top tier of the population corresponds with increasing economic inequality and a lack of social and economic mobility. As a consequence, neighborhoods and metropolitan areas have become more polarized. Stark geographic differences in levels of poverty, income, health outcomes, job opportunities, lifetime earning potential, and educational attainment highlight the degree to which place matters in terms of social and economic opportunity. Shared Prosperity in America's Communities examines this place-based disparity of opportunity and suggests what can be done to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are widely shared. Contributors' essays explore social and economic mobility throughout the country to illuminate the changing geog

About this title

About the Author

Susan M. Wachter is the Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance, The Wharton School; Professor of City and Regional Planning, School of Design; and Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research, at the University of Pennsylvania. Lei Ding is Community Development Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Review

"Wachter and Ding have assembled a dazzling collection of contributors to explore the intersection of inequality and place. This volume makes clear that policy cannot ignore geography—the future of opportunity in America begins at the neighborhood level. I encourage scholars, policymakers, and the interested public worried about increasing inequality to take advantage of the many insights this collection offers."—Sarah Rosen Wartell, The Urban Institute

"While income inequality has received much attention from scholars and the media, the profound impact of geography on inequality has not been explored deeply. This volume brings together an impressive collection of essays that create a nuanced map of inequality in America and point toward solutions."—Raphael Bostic, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California

"The country is riven by social and economic inequality. This book explains why mending this rift must take place community by community and provides the research and analysis to make this happen."—Marc Morial, National Urban League

"Missing in the national dialogue about income equality is the role that cities have traditionally fulfilled as building blocks for opportunity and indeed must fulfill going forward. Susan Wachter and Lei Ding have assembled a group of respected scholars who advance important ideas about how schools, cities, and metropolitan areas can strengthen our national quest for social and economic progress."—Henry Cisneros, City View

"An important contribution to the conversation about urban inequality. The essays collected by Susan M. Wachter and Lei Ding tackle issues such as intergenerational mobility, racial and socioeconomic segregation, active labor market policy, and strategic urban renewal efforts with balance and rigor."—Steven Raphael, University of California, Berkeley

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 081224785X
• ISBN 13: 9780812247855
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 280
• Editor: Wachter Susan M., Ding Lei