Our Annual Network Gathering began with a presentation by Chris Schildt, Senior Associate at PolicyLink. Her message was clear: Equitable development is not just a moral imperative, it is also an economic imperative.

Recently, PolicyLink completed an equity profile of various cities throughout the United States - one of which was our home city of Detroit, MI. In this report, researchers used public data sources to measure the gaps that exists across socioeconomic classes and racial groups. Analysts used key metrics related to the city's demographics, economic vitality, workforce readiness, connectedness and economic benefits.

Key findings from PolicyLink's Equity Profile include:

Poverty rates, including rates of working poverty, are growing throughout the city. Sixty Four percent of residents in 2014 lived living below 200% of the poverty level.
People of color continue to earn the lowest wages. Since 2000, white workers have seen an average decrease in wages by $2/hour, whereas non-white workers (including black and Latino) have seen an average decrease in wages by $5/hour.
Roughly 30,000 youth (95% of which are people of color) are disconnected from work or school, which makes Detroit the city with the largest share of disconnected youth in the United States.
Average income for people of color in Detroit would increase by 25% with racial equity.

Armed with this data, we discussed how to build a new economy in Detroit that is equitable, sustainable, prosperous and provides opportunities to restore power and agency back to those communities most marginalized.