While Detroit is witnessing a paradoxical resurgence between - TopicsExpress

While Detroit is witnessing a paradoxical resurgence between downtown and Midtown (commercial corridor), amounting to billions of dollars in investment, the citys neighborhoods (urban corridor), which comprise more than 82.7 percent African-Americans and 32,490 black-owned businesses, have largely been ignored for any economic opportunities, resources and benefits. The absence of diverse participation and inclusion in Detroits economic revitalization efforts has become a serious problem in a city thats majority minority. The lack of a clear economic policy for Detroits neighborhoods has led to insurmountable socio-economic disparities, resulting in increased unemployment and joblessness, small-business and entrepreneurial neglect, community despair and a sense of hopelessness. A community benefits agreement can help achieve equitable and inclusive development that will address Detroits neighborhood problem and bring together the two Detroits. CBAs are the best-known economic policy for underserved neighborhoods, where large percentages of economically disadvantaged minorities and communities of color reside and own businesses. It allows for large-scale projects and sometimes-controversial new development projects, which normally depend on a range of public subsidies, to work with elected officials and residents to support the inclusion of robust community benefits. Detroit taxpayers have public skin in the game, and the resulting public benefit should be quantifiable. CBAs are a way for the city to also adopt a living-wage ordinance policy, local hiring standards, mixed-income housing requirements, procurement with Detroit-based businesses and other policies that apply to future large-scale projects. CBAs can be used as one solution to job creation and economic growth in Detroits neighborhoods. In Detroit, several large-scale projects, including the new arena project, the entertainment district, M-1 Rail, a second bridge to Canada, expansion of hospitals and universities, philanthropic entrepreneurial targeting, community reinvestment, and new housing and commercial developments represent hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, in investment. A CBA will ensure that there are best practices and policies with measurable outcomes -- think ROI -- that can have a direct impact on Detroits most distressed and underserved neighborhoods. The lack of meaningful public participation in the planning and land use regulatory process hurts Detroits economic progress and further disenfranchises communities of color. Detroits leadership must move past emotional and opinion-driven rhetoric by adopting a policy that would include targeted hiring, first-source employment, employer training, forecasting, Detroit-based procurement, enforcement and monitoring. Such measures are needed to avoid the repetition of Detroits spotty history, from the urban removal of Black Bottom on up to the Marathon expansion: a $175 million tax abatement in exchange for 15 Detroit jobs. Although a small percentage of business leaders have expressed their dissent toward a CBA ordinance, a large percentage of Detroit-based businesses, especially those of African-American descent operating in Detroits neighborhoods, call for a return of investment. What the community benefits ordinance offers is something that most businesspeople and businesses crave: a clear framework with established expectations. Developers expect subcontractors to make good on deliverables based on signed agreements. No less should be expected of major developers who receive massive public subsidies and need to be a good fit for the communities that host their projects.