'Inequality Happens?' Hopefully Not

Even local officials who prefer to talk about the fiscal rebound of their cities will not be able to accept escalating inequality as a byproduct of urban growth forever.

1 minute read

January 15, 2015, 2:00 PM PST

By Lisa Monetti


By Keli Tianga

In a recent Rooflines post, Sarah Treuhaft holds up new, reputable data that finds that inequality is not a circumstance of economic success, after all, but that it actually has a dampening effect. Specifically, the widening gap between the poor and lower middle class (households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution) and everyone else had the biggest negative impact on growth. Treuhaft’s takeaway is that increased inclusion and equity will lead to sustained growth of economies, so practitioners in community development and related sectors should stop working under the shadow of old research and actively work to help shift the paradigm.

Making a similar but somehow altogether different argument is...


Friday, January 9, 2015 in Rooflines

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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