URBAN AGENDA page for review

What is an Urban Agenda

An Urban Agenda is not a report or policy brief, or a new program or initiative. An Urban Agenda calls for coordinated and integrated planning, collective action, and accountability. An Urban Agenda advances the economic and social inclusion of Black and Brown people; builds a vital, sustainable, healthy, and engaged community for all; addresses conditions that have resulted in disinvestment in communities of color; mitigates policies and practices that foster structural racism and ineffective systems; and serves as a blueprint that clarifies community priorities, codifies joint approaches for action, and unifies like-minded leaders from various backgrounds and disciplines to ensure successful implementation.

Why An Urban Agenda

What Are The Urban Agenda Goals?

The Urban Agenda will aim to narrow and eventually eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in economic well-being in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

The three shared primary goals are:

Improving median incomes for Black and Hispanic/Latino households

Reducing poverty rates

Closing the wealth gap between Black and Hispanic households and their White counterparts

The Urban Agenda is unique from other initiatives

1.

The Urban Agenda is about systemic, not programmatic, change.

2.

The Urban Agenda recognizes that significant change will take decades

3.

The Urban Agenda adopts a collective impact approach to systemic change.

4.

The partner model of The Urban Agenda is unique.

An extraordinary coming together behind an Urban Agenda focused on improving economic mobility.

PolicyBridge has served Cleveland and Northeast Ohio for twenty years as a public policy think and action tank. The Urban Agenda Collective Impact Project was launched, in part, as a response to Cleveland gaining the unwanted distinction of being the one of the nation’s poorest big cities. The city has consistently remained among the nation’s poorest despite various efforts among local entities and organizations to turn the tide. In late 2021, our report titled “Resetting the Table,” advocated a new, unified approach to the area’s protracted challenges. In February 2023, an engaged group of leaders representing public, private, philanthropic and non-profit organizations began meeting regularly to talk, build connection and plan. A commitment to an Urban Agenda focusing on economic mobility emerged from those meetings. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing event sets an intent among the assembled Community Partners to pursue a collective impact approach consisting of co-designed strategies, coordinated activities and continuous improvement measured by a community dashboard.

These leaders of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are united behind a bold vision for systems-level change to bring about a more just and economically robust community for all citizens. This is an extraordinary coming together behind shared Urban Agenda goals:

PARTNERS

Long-Term Economic Mobility Goals

The Urban Agenda is focused on advancing economic mobility across Cleveland and Cuyahoga County through three interconnected long-term goals. These goals are intentionally ambitious and require coordinated systems change across sectors.

Benchmark Progression (2028 to 2050)

Progress is measured through phased benchmarks that advance from parity with Ohio, to parity with the Nation, to exceeding national averages, and ultimately to elimination of the gap or poverty.

Tracked by Urban Agenda Dashboard – PBUA.net

How These Benchmarks Are Achieved

These benchmarks are advanced through a coordinated systems change approach that aligns partners, strategies, and resources to address root causes and drive measurable outcomes over time.

To achieve these goals, the Urban Agenda concentrates on three interconnected economic systems. Each represents a primary pathway through which economic mobility outcomes will be achieved.

Homeownership

Supporting asset building and wealth creation through increased access to homeownership opportunities.

Business Ownership

Expanding wealth-building opportunities by growing Black and Brown-owned business creation and sustainability.

Workforce Preparedness

Increasing income and economic stability through education, workforce training, credentials, and career pathways.

Why implement the Urban Agenda now?

The last few years have brought significant transformations in institutional leadership across various sectors, including government, philanthropy, social services, and business advocacy. This indicates a unique opportunity for innovative thinking and bold ideas. The Urban Agenda seeks to capitalize on this moment to create impactful change for the residents, businesses, and communities of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

What happens if we don’t change our approach to the challenges we face?

PolicyBridge was conceived to address issues negatively affecting life in Cleveland’s distressed neighborhoods, especially the African American community. In our 20 years of research and advocacy, we have seen a significant number of quality programs and initiatives to address a wide range of specific issues. Yet even our most successful endeavors have not moved the needle in improving the overall quality of life and access to economic opportunities in Cleveland’s low-wealth neighborhoods. Cleveland is a city that consistently ranks among the poorest in the nation and is also singled out for undesirable realities ranging from Black infant mortality to the digital divide. How can this be? We are a city of many diligent and innovative community leaders and activists, an engaged business community, and admirable philanthropic institutions and resources. However, to truly make a dent in such broad-based needs, we must unify our many individual efforts behind a single plan.

PolicyBridge
2930 Prospect Ave.
Urban League Building
Suite 113
Cleveland OH 44115
P: 216-344-4600
F: 216-344-3232
E: info@policybridgeneo.org

Focus Areas
Economic Development
Education
Health and Wellness
Social Justice
Workforce Development
Urban Development

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