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Project Description

The Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Initiative (EZ/EC), is designed to encourage comprehensive planning and investment. The initiative aims to create self-sustaining, long-term economic, physical, and social development in the neediest urban and rural areas in the United States over a ten-year period.

Under the initial round of funding announced in December 1994, 71 urban sites received EZ/EC designation. The major share of the federal funding went to the six sites designated as Empowerment Zones (EZs) and the remaining funds went to Enterprise Communities (ECs). Each funded community's efforts at zone transformation were expected to reflect four key principles:
· Economic opportunity
· Community-based partnerships
· Sustainable community development, and
· A strategic vision for change.
The goal of this project is to examine the activities and provide a “progress report” of the urban Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Initiative sites after the first five years of program operations.

Project duration: Nov 1996 - Nov 2001

Sites studied include Six Empowerment Zones:
Atlanta, GA;
Baltimore, MD;
Chicago, IL;
Detroit, MI;
New York City, NY;
and
Philadelphia, PA-Camden, NJ.


The Enterprise Communities:
Cleveland, OH;
Boston, MA;
Burlington, VT;
Charlotte, NC;
Dallas, TX;
Louisville, KY;
Minneapolis, MN;
Oakland, CA;
San Diego, CA;
San Francisco, CA;
Seattle, WA;
and
Ta-coma, WA.

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

18 study sites in total ( 6 Empowerment Zones and 12 Enterprise Communities)

Recent Findings in Brief

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