Growing up in Cleveland, I remember massive white flight from the urban core to surrounding suburbs. Neighborhoods in Cleveland became predominantly African-American almost overnight. Growing Latino populations in cities such as Houston and Los Angeles were also once viewed with trepidation. Now, cities attracting “those people,” African-American and Latino, have become the leaders in the urban revitalization revolution.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African-Americans and Latinos collectively compose over 30 percent of our nation’s population. These 96 million people mainly reside in urban areas. While physical infrastructure and Internet-based government service delivery are critical, attracting diverse human capital ultimately fosters economic development for cities and regions. Although citizen engagement is typically most tenuous relative to African-American and Latino populations, these are the very population segments that have been integral to smart growth in America.
Transportation and Public Works – Atlanta Style
Atlanta’s African-American Mayor Kasim Reed openly welcomes immigrants and international investment to Atlanta. Atlanta is among cities with the fastest-growing Latino populations. A Washington Post article estimates that the Latino population will grow by another 800,000 people by 2030. Since Atlanta cultivated a culture of economic inclusion decades ago, economic growth fueled by Latinos is quite natural.
In the midst of racial tension in Atlanta during the 1960s, civic and business leaders declared Atlanta “the city too busy to hate.” Although Jim Crow policies were the law of the land, African-American and white visionary leaders understood that economic and social exclusion were antithetical to long-term regional growth.
During the 1970s and 1980s, African-American Mayor Maynard Jackson, along with local business leaders, leveraged the Atlanta airport as the linchpin for economic inclusion. According to its website, African American-owned construction company, H.J. Russell currently manages $6.2 billion in construction projects for the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (named posthumously for Maynard Jackson) alone. The substantive inclusion of African-American-owned construction firms on public works projects was the impetus to attracting and retaining African-American professionals and entrepreneurs.
By creating this culture of economic inclusion, Atlanta now attracts talented African-Americans, U.S.-born Latino migrants and immigrant Latinos. As a result, the overall region has flourished. Meanwhile the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 2014 Metro Economies Report indicates that the Atlanta metropolitan region has grown to the 10th-largest local economy in America. Atlanta has proven that economic inclusion is not some social justice handout; it is an economic development imperative.
The Southern Advantage
When providing business transformation services to CenterPoint Energy in Houston as one of the largest smart grid initiatives in the country, the connection between cultural relevance and an electric grid modernization effort became very apparent. Keeping pace with new infrastructure deployment demands within a high-growth region requires smart planning.
The simultaneous effective engagement of a growing multicultural and multilingual customer base required to deploy smart meters represented an even more difficult challenge. It is the innovative public outreach strategies that led to the success of the 2 million smart meter deployment and subsequent community goodwill across African-American and Latino communities.
Forbes magazine ranks the best cities for Latinos and African-Americans. Rates of entrepreneurship, employment and homeownership are the criteria used to determine the optimal cities. In addition to Houston and Atlanta, numerous Southern cities dominate the lists. The data is clear – attracting African-American and Latino talent as part of a regional economic growth strategy makes dollars and sense. Infrastructure planning and advanced technological deployments in cities are inextricably linked to economically inclusive urban planning.
Young, Gifted, African-American, and Brown
According to an October 2014 White House report, 15 Economic Facts about Millennials, 35 percent of millennials are African-American and Latino collectively. Birth rates among whites only continue to decline. Immigrant-friendly and racially inclusive cities in the South are attracting diverse college-educated talent at higher rates than other regions of the country.
Young people of color living in high-population-density innovation districts ironically are essential to smart cities' urban planning in the South. Millennials of all racial and cultural backgrounds are predisposed to living in cities where diversity and economic inclusion are fundamental to regional growth and innovation. As this model of innovative human collaboration matures, we are sure to solve our energy, water and transportation challenges – together.
Todd Q. Adams is the Chief Officer of Sustainability and Innovation for Visibility Marketing Inc. Adams’ expertise is in the areas of smart metering for smart grid, electric vehicles' readiness for smart grid, smart water management and intelligent transportation initiatives.
Twitter: @ToddQAdams
