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<br />Overview
<br />Across the country, communities are striving to put plans,
<br />policies, and programs in place that build healthier, more
<br />prosperous regions that provide opportunities for all of their
<br />residents to participate and thrive.
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<br />neighborhoods providing few of those elements. The goal of
<br />regional equity is to ensure that all neighborhoods throughout
<br />the region are communities of opportunity that provide their
<br />residents with the tools they need to thrive.
<br />The Equitable Growth Profile of the Research Triangle Region
<br />Equity — full inclusion of all residents in the economic, social, examines demographic trends and indicators of equitable
<br />and political life of the region, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, growth, highlighting strengths and areas of vulnerability in
<br />gender, neighborhood of residence, or other characteristics — is
<br />essential for regional prosperity. As the nation undergoes a
<br />profound demographic transformation in which people of color
<br />are quickly becoming the majority, ensuring that people of all
<br />races and ethnicities can participate and reach their full
<br />potential is more than just the right thing to do, it is an
<br />economic imperative.
<br />In the past, equity and growth have often been pursued on
<br />separate paths, now it is becoming increasingly clear that they
<br />must be pursued together. The latest research on national and
<br />regional economic growth, from economists working at
<br />institutions including the International Monetary Fund and
<br />Standard and Poor's, finds that inequality hinders economic
<br />growth and prosperity, while greater economic and racial
<br />inclusion fosters greater economic mobility and more robust
<br />and sustained growth.'
<br />Embedding equity into local and regional development
<br />strategies is particularly important given the history of
<br />metropolitan development in the United States. America's
<br />regions are highly segregated by race and income, and these
<br />patterns of exclusion were created and maintained by public
<br />policies at the federal, state, regional, and local levels. In the
<br />decades after World War II, housing and transportation policies
<br />incentivized the growth of suburbs while redlining practices and
<br />racially restrictive covenants systematically prevented African
<br />Americans and other people of color from buying homes in new
<br />developments while starving older urban neighborhoods of
<br />needed reinvestment. Many other factors — continued racial
<br />discrimination in housing and employment, exclusionary land
<br />use practices that prevent construction of affordable
<br />multifamily homes in more affluent neighborhoods, and political
<br />fragmentation — have reinforced geographic, racial, and class
<br />inequities.
<br />Today, America's regions are patchworks of concentrated
<br />advantage and disadvantage, with some neighborhoods home
<br />to good schools, bustling commercial districts, services, parks,
<br />and other crucial ingredients for economic success, and other
<br />relation to the goal of building a strong, resilient economy. It
<br />was developed by PolicyLink and the Program for
<br />Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) to help the Triangle J
<br />and Kerr -Tar councils of governments, advocacy groups, elected
<br />officials, planners, business leaders, funders, and others working
<br />to build a stronger region.
<br />This summary document highlights key findings from the profile
<br />along with policy and planning implications.
<br />Equitable Growth Indicators
<br />This profile draws from a unique Equitable Growth Indicators
<br />Database developed by PolicyLink and PERE. This database
<br />incorporates hundreds of data points from public and private
<br />data sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of
<br />Labor Statistics, and Woods & Poole Economics, Inc. The
<br />database includes data for the 150 largest metropolitan regions
<br />and all 50 states, and includes historical data going back to
<br />1980 for many economic indicators as well as demographic
<br />projections through 2040. It enables comparative regional and
<br />state analyses as well as tracking change over time.
<br />Defining the Research Triangle Region
<br />For the purposes of this profile, we define the region as the 13-
<br />county area shown below. All data in the profile use this
<br />regional boundary, exceptions where lack of data are noted in
<br />the "Data and methods" section of the full profile.
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