Opinion: Start the conversation

Get young people interested in entrepreneurship in their community early.

Detroit’s Destined Project takes a group of kids from the design phase through the market phase of a commercial real estate development project. “Students learn everything from the basics of real estate – the difference between a multifamily and commercial asset, for example – as well as intensive sections on architecture, design, construction, real estate operations, legal regulations and funding,” wrote Next City’s Emily Nonko.

Cedric Bobo and Fred Greene, who founded the nonprofit in 2016 to get young people of color to view their communities as opportunities and see themselves as investors and entrepreneurs, have since expanded to the Bronx and Memphis.

2. Pay attention to the story

An urban development project in Washington, DC, 11th Street Bridge Park, included an equitable development plan. The park is built on a disused bridge spanning the Anacostia River and connecting predominantly black neighborhoods in the nation’s capital. One of the plan’s goals is to “maintain a thriving network of small businesses that operate in Bridge Park following construction.” Leverage 11th Street Bridge Park to build and sustain small businesses in the surrounding community. Ensure Bridge Park is deeply connected to commercial corridors on both sides of the Anacostia River.

3. Ensure community leadership

One example: Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative, hosted by the city’s Office of Community Planning and Development, is “explicitly community-led, using a community advisory board to draw on the lived experience of communities and ask residents what they need,” as Isabella Garcia explains. noted in Yes Magazine.

4. Look at lending in a new light

Minority-owned businesses often have difficulty obtaining capital. But the Minority Business Development Agency at the Enterprise Center of West Philadelphia is helping to bridge the gap.

Consider that the Small Business Investment Company, which pools capital from larger investors such as banks, pension funds or insurance companies and invests these pooled funds in business portfolios over a specified period of time, makes around 1,000 investments each year. Of those, about 60 SBIC investments are in businesses owned by women, people of color or veterans, as Next City’s Oscar Perry Abello reported in 2022.

The Enterprise Center uses “federal funding to assist minority-owned businesses with technical assistance, particularly in pursuing city contracts or corporate supplier contracts as part of supplier diversity initiatives “, wrote Abello. “The center’s funding relationships with community organizations allow banks to fulfill some of their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act.”

These are just a few ideas. We want to hear from you: We’re accepting submissions of up to 800 words on how to ensure Atlanta’s growth respects its legacy and heralds its future. What is the one thing that would make Greater Atlanta perfect? How would you manage Atlanta’s growth? How would you solve traffic problems? Homelessness? Green area? Send your ideas – big and small – to [email protected]. — The editorial committee