A project on Social Cohesion, Arts, and Health Equity has explored these questions in-depth with artists, leaders in public health and community development, and researchers. The most ambitious product of this exploration is the new multi-faceted report authored by Metris Arts Consulting: WE-Making: How Arts & Culture Unite People to Work Toward Community Well-Being. A 2019 convening of artists, researchers, public health leaders, and community developers yielded many insights and stories which are reproduced in the Proceedings and Thematic Analysis created by the Center for Arts in Medicine of the University of Florida. The Proceedings can be found here. Download the brief.

Through support from The Heinz Endowments, PolicyLink was invited to join Neighborhood Allies, Urban Innovation21, the UrbanKind Institute, and their partners to put forth an equitable development vision and strategy to enable low-wealth Pittsburghers to participate in and benefit from the region’s economic transformation. This brief captures 10 lessons from All-In Pittsburgh’s transformative early work which have served as a model for PolicyLink partnerships with other cities. Download the brief.

In the nine-county Bay Area, as in the rest of the nation, deep racial inequities are built into the regional economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and ReWork the Bay, offers a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. It provides in-depth, disaggregated data on equity indicators and labor market dynamics, finding that only 47 percent of the region’s workers hold stable jobs, that White workers with only a high school diploma earn higher wages, on average, than Latinx workers with an associate’s degree, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the Bay Area economy by $348 billion a year. Finally, it provides a blueprint for action to advance workforce equity informed by the data and crafted by local leaders. Download the report.

Additional resources:

• Summary data slide deck
• Strategic industry profile (from Burning Glass Technologies)
• Supplementary data tables on automation risk and job quality

Media: New Research Highlights Racial Inequities in the Bay Area Workforce and Makes Actionable Recommendations for Equitable Economic Recovery (PR Newswire)

In the Seattle metropolitan area, as in the rest of the nation, deep racial inequities are built into the regional economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, offers a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. It provides in-depth, disaggregated data on equity indicators and labor market dynamics, finding that only 44 percent of the region’s workers hold good jobs, that White workers with less than a high school diploma earn higher average wages than Black workers with an associate’s degree, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the Seattle metro economy by $33 billion a year. Finally, it provides a blueprint for action to advance workforce equity informed by the data and developed by local leaders. Download the report.

Additional resources:

• Summary data slide deck
• Strategic industry profile (from Burning Glass Technologies)
• Supplementary data tables on automation risk and job quality

Media: New Research Highlights Racial Disparities in the Workforce in Seattle and Makes Actionable Recommendations for Equitable Economic Recovery (PR News Wire)

In Dallas and Collin counties, Texas, as in the rest of the nation, deep racial inequities are built into the regional economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and Pathways to Work at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, offers a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. It provides in-depth, disaggregated data on equity indicators and labor market dynamics, finding that only 40 percent of the region’s workers hold good jobs, that White workers with only a high school diploma earn on average the same wages as Black or Latinx workers with an associate’s degree, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the combined economy of Dallas and Collin counties by $115 billion a year. Finally, it outlines a blueprint for action to advance workforce equity, informed by the data and crafted by local leaders. Download the report.

Additional resources:

• Summary data slide deck
• Strategic industry profile (from Burning Glass Technologies)
• Supplementary data tables on automation risk and job quality

Media: New Research Highlights Racial Disparities in the Workforce in Dallas and Collin Counties and Makes Actionable Recommendations for Equitable Economic Recovery (Yahoo Finance) 

In the Boston metropolitan area, as in the rest of the nation, deep racial inequities are built into the regional economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and SkillWorks, provides a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. Our in-depth analysis of disaggregated equity indicators and labor market dynamics found that only 47 percent of the region’s workers hold good jobs, that White workers with only a high school diploma earn on average about 10 percent more than Black workers with an associate’s degree, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the Boston regional economy by almost $45 billion a year. The report concludes with a blueprint for action to advance workforce equity across the region, informed by the data and shaped by local leaders. Download the report.

Additional resources:

• Summary data slide deck
• Strategic industry profile (from Burning Glass Technologies)
• Supplementary data tables on automation risk and job quality

Media: New Research Highlights Racial Inequities in the Boston Area Workforce and Makes Actionable Recommendations for Equitable Economic Recovery (PR News Wire)

In the Chicagoland area, as in the rest of the nation, deep racial inequities are built into the regional economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance, offers a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. It provides in-depth, disaggregated data on equity indicators and labor market dynamics, finding that only 41 percent of the region’s 4.2 million workers hold good jobs, that White workers with only a high school diploma earn on average the same wages as Black workers with an associate’s degree, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the Chicagoland economy by $136 billion a year. Finally, it provides a blueprint for action to advance workforce equity informed by the data and driven by local leaders. Download the report.

Additional resources:

• Summary data slide deck
• Strategic industry profile (from Burning Glass Technologies)
• Supplementary data tables on automation risk and job quality

Media: New Research Highlights Racial Inequities in the Chicago Area Workforce and Proposes Recommendations for Equitable Economic Recovery (PR News Wire)

The effort to document and research the Community Development Investments initiative grew up alongside the program itself, and the analytical approach reflects a balance between conveying the unique features of six distinct experiences and producing lessons of broader relevance to various fields of practice. This essay describes the ways in which the PolicyLink team, in close consultation with ArtPlace America, the grantees of the program, and a number of advisors, created and carried out an approach that was suited to the unique features and dimensions of the initiative.

This is the fourth in a series of briefs that describe the changes, insights, and lessons when arts and cultural strategies are deployed in service of comprehensive community development and planning. During ArtPlace America's Community Development Investments initiative, six participating organizations which had not previously focused on the arts developed creative placemaking projects and cultural strategies that could help them more effectively achieve their missions. PolicyLink conducted a research and documentation project to measure the progress, immediate outcomes, and impacts of those projects.

This brief examines how artist researchers in theater, film, photography, and other disciplines brought different questions, sensibilities, and methods to bear to creatively document the CDI initiative as a whole and to advance the goals of the individual site teams. Download the brief.