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A wide-ranging collection of research examining the intricate economics of place-based policies.

After decades of skepticism about place-based policies, recent initiatives such as Opportunity Zones and elements of the Inflation Reduction Act signal renewed policy interest in targeting economically distressed areas. This volume surveys empirical findings from the US and Europe on the effectiveness of these policies, explores new theoretical rationales for geographic targeting, and examines the institutional contexts that shape policy design and implementation. The contributors evaluate major place-based initiatives and consider nontraditional approaches to supporting regional economies, including large-scale industrial interventions, public employment reallocation, and economic development on Native American reservations.

This collection is not limited to empirical policy impact evaluations as it takes a broader-ranging perspective. The contributors present evaluation evidence while also emphasizing the features, implementation processes, and institutional settings that shape policy effectiveness. They address critical questions such as: What new insights from economic theory can inform the design of place-based policies? What lessons from past policies are reflected—or ignored—in current approaches? How does US policymaking compare with European practices, and what takeaways can be derived from the comparison of the two?

The Economics of Place-Based Policies provides policymakers with evidence-based guidance on the design of effective interventions while offering researchers a comprehensive foundation for future study of how public policy can address geographic economic disparities.

How does a so-called bad neighborhood go about changing its reputation? Is it simply a matter of improving material conditions or picking the savviest marketing strategy? What kind of role can or should the arts play in that process? Does gentrification always entail a betrayal of a neighborhood’s roots? Tackling these questions and offering a fresh take on the dynamics of urban revitalization, The Philadelphia Barrio examines one neighborhood’s fight to erase the stigma of devastation.

Frederick F. Wherry shows how, in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Centro de Oro, entrepreneurs and community leaders forged connections between local businesses and cultural institutions to rebrand a place once nicknamed the Badlands. Artists and performers negotiated with government organizations and national foundations, Wherry reveals, and took to local galleries, stages, storefronts, and street parades in a concerted, canny effort to reanimate the spirit of their neighborhood.

Complicating our notions of neighborhood change by exploring the ways the process is driven by local residents, The Philadelphia Barrio presents a nuanced look at how city dwellers can make commercial interests serve the local culture, rather than exploit it.

Intense attention has been paid to Detroit as a site of urban crisis. This crisis, however, has not only yielded the massive devaluation of real estate that has so often been noted; it has also yielded an explosive production of seemingly valueless urban property that has facilitated the imagination and practice of alternative urbanisms. The first sustained study of Detroit’s alternative urban cultures, The Unreal Estate Guide to Detroit initiates a new focus on Detroit as a site not only of urban crisis but also of urban possibility.

Across the country from Camden to Oakland, the contributors engaged with community partners--hospitals, churches, community development corporations, community foundations, and other rooted institutions--to help restore old cities to life. Their collaborative thesis project engaged them with one another and university staff; it may offer a new paradigm for graduate education.