The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) recently published the Playbook for Equitable Economic Development. The playbook offers guidance to help practitioners identify structural racism and implement equitable policies in several fields such as housing, workforce development, small business finance, climate resilience, and neighborhood and downtown revitalization.
In the areas of housing and real estate, the playbook briefly covers the historical frame of redlining, the GI bill, housing policy in the 1950s, urban renewal, and data to quantify how their effects are still being felt today. The playbook then provides readers with several strategies aimed at increasing housing equity through property ownership policies, land reclamation/ownership, and creating inclusive mixed-use neighborhoods with redevelopment tools such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Tax Allocation Districts.
The playbook highlights several case studies, including one in the District of Columbia. The St. Elizabeths hospital property, located in the distressed Anacostia neighborhood, was redeveloped through a partnership between the D.C. Mayor’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and multiple other entities. The redevelopment of the former Civil War-era mental health hospital aimed to integrate the property into the surrounding area, transforming the neighborhood into a walkable mixed-use community. Housing at the former hospital site is being financed by several mechanisms and includes several hundred affordable apartments, townhomes, and a men’s shelter with low-barrier beds for workforce housing and senior living.