Created to speed investment in struggling communities, the federal Opportunity Zones program could also spur research into how capital can be better deployed on a district-by-district basis.
A product of the GOP's 2017 tax reform bill, the federal Opportunity Zones program proposes to aid "struggling communities" (though there's been some debate on that score) by enabling greater redevelopment investment in specific census tracts. Here, Bruce Katz discusses why the program could spark more comprehensive research into how specific investments impact and interact with their wider environs.
Katz points to some of the common designations for urban districts: central business districts, anchor districts, residential areas, and the like. "For urban officials, practitioners, researchers or residents themselves, these archetypes are so settled that they rarely elicit discussion or debate. Yet the Opportunity Zone tax incentive enables us to think about each of these distinct areas as possible asset classes or investment sectors."
The Opportunity Zone framework, Katz says, is one way to see past the compartmentalization of urban finance. "At a minimum, the creation of Zone typologies could help motivate major institutions within different kinds of Opportunity Zones to consider how to realize their full economic impact."
See also: New Scrutiny for the Federal 'Opportunity Zones' Program
FULL STORY: Rethinking Capital and Geography
Five Years Later: What Have Opportunity Zones Accomplished?
Two recent studies are among the first to attempt a comprehensive account of the effects of the Investing in Opportunity Program, one of the signature place-based policies of the Trump era.
Opportunity Zones Under Investigation by Treasury Inspector General
Along with other members of congress, one of the authors of the law that established the federal Opportunity Zones program has asked the Treasury Department to investigate potential abuse of the program. The Treasury inspector general is obliging.
Census Tract Changes Could Expand Opportunity Zones
Tract boundary revisions for the 2020 Census could mean new opportunity zone designations as well.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time
A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.
Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.
Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions