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Urban Regimes and Community Empowerment: Lessons from the Empowerment Zones in Atlanta and Baltimore
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The Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) initiative was the major
federal urban program of the 1990s. The EZ/EC initiative was significant because it combined several innovative policy tools (special financing mechanisms, tax incentives, and regulatory relief) with a traditional policy tool (the block grant). Moreover, in developing the initiative HUD embraced a new paradigm for urban revitalization that emphasized comprehensiveness, collaboration, community participation, and strategic planning. The program also served as a vehicle to demonstrate innovative management strategies identified with broader efforts to reinvent government. Despite the significance of the EZ/EC program, little is known about its effectiveness.
As the original EZ/EC program approaches its termination point (at the end of 2004), we
look at what the EZ/EC initiative has accomplished in Atlanta and Baltimore, what lessons have been learned regarding the adoption and implementation of this innovative policy, and, perhaps most importantly, how the EZ/EC initiative was shaped by and (in turn) has shaped urban governance, particularly in distressed inner city neighborhoods. Not Your Typical Federal Program
The application guide explained that the EZ/EC initiative “is not a typical federal
program” and in many ways this was true (HUD 1994). The initiative was based on four key principles: (1) expanding economic opportunity, (2) promoting sustainable community development, (3) fostering community-based partnerships, and (4) crafting a strategic vision for change. These principles not only provided the intellectual framework for the initiative but also served as the key selection criteria in evaluating submitted plans. According to the EZ/EC application guide, “the first priority in revitalizing distressed communities is to create economic opportunities—jobs and work—for all residents.”
However, the key principles also implied that
economic development efforts are more likely to succeed when they are grounded in a broader revitalization strategy that coordinates economic, environmental, physical, community, and human development. In addition, the key principles implied that successful community revitalization must be driven by broad participation that includes local, state, and national government, the private sector, nonprofit agencies, community-based organizations, and residents.
The benefits of designation varied depending upon whether a community was selected as
an Empowerment Zone (EZ) or an Enterprise Community (EC). The six cities designated as EZ communities each received $100 million Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). These funds could be used for a broader range of eligible activities than was normally permitted under the regular Title XX SSBG program, and were designed to help communities carry out activities identified in their strategic plans. EZ communities also received $150 million in federal tax credits. EC designees received $3 million in block grant funds, but no tax credits. Both EZ and EC cities were eligible to apply for new federal tax-exempt private facility bonds, and to apply
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1
The Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) initiative was the major
federal urban program of the 1990s. The EZ/EC initiative was significant because it combined
several innovative policy tools (special financing mechanisms, tax incentives, and regulatory
relief) with a traditional policy tool (the block grant). Moreover, in developing the initiative
HUD embraced a new paradigm for urban revitalization that emphasized comprehensiveness,
collaboration, community participation, and strategic planning. The program also served as a
vehicle to demonstrate innovative management strategies identified with broader efforts to
reinvent government. Despite the significance of the EZ/EC program, little is known about its
effectiveness.
As the original EZ/EC program approaches its termination point (at the end of 2004), we
look at what the EZ/EC initiative has accomplished in Atlanta and Baltimore, what lessons have
been learned regarding the adoption and implementation of this innovative policy, and, perhaps
most importantly, how the EZ/EC initiative was shaped by and (in turn) has shaped urban
governance, particularly in distressed inner city neighborhoods.
Not Your Typical Federal Program
The application guide explained that the EZ/EC initiative “is not a typical federal
program” and in many ways this was true (HUD 1994). The initiative was based on four key
principles: (1) expanding economic opportunity, (2) promoting sustainable community
development, (3) fostering community-based partnerships, and (4) crafting a strategic vision for
change. These principles not only provided the intellectual framework for the initiative but also
served as the key selection criteria in evaluating submitted plans. According to the EZ/EC
application guide, “the first priority in revitalizing distressed communities is to create economic
opportunities—jobs and work—for all residents.”
However, the key principles also implied that
economic development efforts are more likely to succeed when they are grounded in a broader
revitalization strategy that coordinates economic, environmental, physical, community, and
human development. In addition, the key principles implied that successful community
revitalization must be driven by broad participation that includes local, state, and national
government, the private sector, nonprofit agencies, community-based organizations, and
residents.
The benefits of designation varied depending upon whether a community was selected as
an Empowerment Zone (EZ) or an Enterprise Community (EC). The six cities designated as EZ
communities each received $100 million Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). These funds
could be used for a broader range of eligible activities than was normally permitted under the
regular Title XX SSBG program, and were designed to help communities carry out activities
identified in their strategic plans. EZ communities also received $150 million in federal tax
credits. EC designees received $3 million in block grant funds, but no tax credits. Both EZ and
EC cities were eligible to apply for new federal tax-exempt private facility bonds, and to apply
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