Inequitable distribution of resources is still a significant problem for community development. This was the message we heard from Dr. Lorin R. Carter at our seminar on equity and the federal New Markets Tax Credits program on September 16. Dr. Carter used maps from 1937 and 2020 to show that patterns of disinvestment based on race in the early twentieth century have an ongoing correlation to current low-income communities, revealing the ways in which, despite contemporary legal protections against discrimination, race has an ongoing impact on the pattern of investment within urban spaces.

These maps, from 1937 and 2020, show the relationship between “security grades” assigned to neighborhoods in the 1930s and patterns of investment that exist through the present.

Dr. Myriam Igoufe spoke about new community development efforts designed to redress inequity originally created through racist housing policy. Dr. Igoufe’s work focuses specifically on the Dallas area and recognizes equity issues within development programs that rely on private decision-making around investment choices. For example, the city’s voucher system was meant to provide increased access to stable housing for historically excluded groups; however, the program allowed landlords to determine whether to accept vouchers, and research has shown a lower rate of voucher acceptance in mostly white areas. In this way, a policy designed to reduce unequal access to housing can ultimately reproduce the system of racial inequity it is designed to address. Dr. Igoufe’s work is critical for identifying these problematic points within the community development process and building out new policy frameworks that eliminate these issues by intentionally aiming for racial equity.

Dr. Carter made it clear that to improve a process that has historically failed to deliver even results, equitable development must take a holistic approach to resource distribution throughout entire communities. Dr. Carter emphasized the need to base community development decisions around prioritizing the needs of existing residents, including quality of life factors, and emphasizing an equitable distribution of the benefits of development.

We also heard from two community development entities (CDEs) about their efforts to incorporate equity into their investment decisions. Jennifer Westerbeck of US Bank--which operates a CDE that participates in the NMTC space--talked about the challenging but crucially important process of building an antiracist workplace culture that can facilitate a more productive dialogue about equity and inform investment decisions.

Chimeka Gladney’s presentation emphasized the “4 W’s & 1 H” of equitable development.

Chimeka Gladney of Enterprise Community Partners described the “four W’s and one H” of equity investment and the critical challenge of how to build an investment portfolio that aligns with this framework. When pursuing equity in community investment, it is critical to understand who is involved in the investment, what the benefits will be and for whom, when and where the project will occur, and, most challengingly, how to ensure the benefits of investment are accessible to community members.

Given the geographical relationship between discriminatory housing policy in the past and low-income communities in the present, it is clear that prioritizing equity in investment planning can be a win-win proposition for communities and investors alike. The NMTC program provides even greater incentive to pursue these high impact investment opportunities.

In all, the seminar created an opportunity to engage with the challenges of building equity into impact investment and displayed some of the inspirational work being done throughout the NMTC space aimed at improving equity in low-income communities. We would like to thank our panelists, our sponsor US Bank, and over ninety participants who joined us for this exciting event. We look forward to incorporating the knowledge, experience, and strategies gained through conversations like these into our work aimed at maximizing impact and building an economy that works for good.

NMTC Equity Seminar