Book: Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation Can Learn from America’s Metro Areas

Posted by University of California Press on January 25, 2016

What’s the secret to fostering sustained, inclusive economic growth in America? There’s no single answer but at least one element may be surprising: diverse leaders coming together to develop shared knowledge about the problems facing communities and a shared vision for an equitable, prosperous future.

That’s the conclusion of a new book, Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation Can Learn from America’s Metro Areas, by Manuel Pastor and Chris Benner. It builds upon their earlier research, also profiled in the book, showing that greater income equality is the strongest predictor of whether a region will sustain growth over time. Drawing on lessons learned from 11 cities around the country, the authors explain how developing a shared understanding of challenges, informed by data, can help overcome political polarization, spur investments for the common good, drive growth, and increase resilience in the face of economic restructuring. America’s Tomorrow spoke with Pastor, director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at the University of Southern California, where he is a professor of sociology, American studies, and ethnicity.

http://www.luminosoa.org/site/books/detail/5/equity-growth-and-community/