The way we go about our daily lives has changed in unprecedented ways in the 28 months since the opportunity zones (OZs) incentive was passed by Congress and signed into law. The country has gone from the highs of a record-breaking stock market and booming GDP figures, to a situation where over 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits, with the U.S. expected to account for 31% of the largest global output retraction in almost a century. Cities, counties and states mobilized as early as March to offer emergency relief funds to struggling small businesses.
These efforts were followed by the largest federal relief program in history: a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, supplemented by another $484 billion relief package.
As we seek to emerge from the public health and global economic crises, serious questions remain about how to deliver recovery that is equitable and builds resilience across our nation. We must make sure not to repeat history, and look to lessons learned by those vulnerable communities that have still not fully recovered from the aftermath of the Great Recession. One way to do this is by looking at OZs. Many of these communities that haven’t experienced recovery in the last ten years are in the same ZIP codes designated as opportunity zones.Read more here.
Follow us on Social Media: