Placelinking: An Emergent Approach to Improving Economic Mobility Outcomes

Recent causal research shows that people’s earnings are directly linked to the neighborhoods where they grew up, with impoverished and underserved communities at the bottom end of the earning scale. Johns Hopkins’ 21st Century Cities Initiative offers three categories of policy suggestions to help economic mobility for people living in distressed neighborhoods. First, place-based programs like revitalization and infrastructure development can create needed services and economic opportunities. Second, housing mobility programs can provide access to higher opportunity areas. Third, placelinking programs can physically reconnect isolated areas without moving residents or building completely new infrastructure. Together, initiatives like these can revamp and reinvigorate impoverished neighborhoods.