APPENDIX
Case Study: Philadelphia and the Enterprise Center of West Philadelphia Background Like many older industrial cities in the Northeast, the city of Philadelphia faced decades of economic stagnation and challenge as the region coped with the loss of manufacturing and other key economic anchors. But, beginning in the early 2000s, the City’s economic engines were revving again, driven by growth in large corporate players, such as Comcast, emerging life sciences and technology clusters, a strong base of higher education institutions, and a burgeoning base of local innovators and entrepreneurs. This economic transformation was both driven and reflected in research and in economic development plans developed by the City of Philadelphia and other local leadership organizations such as the Economy League, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and others. All of these efforts have generally aligned around strategies designed to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent development. For example, The Economy League of Philadelphia’s 2012 Focus 2026: Priorities and Goals for a World-Class Greater Philadelphia strategy reflects these patterns.53 It recommends a three-pronged strategy built on education and talent development, business growth, and infrastructure modernization. These various efforts have spawned a host of innovative programs and strategies. Examples include Campus Philly, a region-wide initiative to retain area college students, and creation of an innovation district anchored by the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. These efforts generated important successes, but community leaders also realized that inclusion and equity were often missing from these initiatives.54 Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of America’s ten largest cities, residential housing segregation is among the worst in the US, and wage disparities between Black and White workers exceeded $7 per hour. Business ownership and growth patterns were similarly skewed. While Black and Latinx residents account for 61% of the city’s population, they own only 5% of city businesses.55 As seen across the US, these small businesses were also disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to promote more equitable and inclusive development began some years ago, and these efforts have gained traction in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public debates spurred by the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others. Dozens of interesting and innovative new experiments are underway. A major blueprint for this work can be found in the May 2021 report entitled Philadelphia Equitable Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment and Strategy. Commissioned by the City of Philadelphia, the United Way, and other key partners, this report presents a roadmap for reform in areas such as capital access, technical assistance, network, and business development opportunities. The report also recommends creation of a region-wide Philadelphia Equitable Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Coalition to support BIPOC entrepreneurs.
53
Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Focus 2026: Priorities and Goals for a World-Class Greater Philadelphia, 2012. Available at: https://economyleague.org/uploads/files/43136739970144563-focus-2026-report.pdf. For example, see Bruce Katz and Richard Florida, “Building Philadelphia Back Better: A Roadmap for an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery,” The New Localism Newsletter, September 3, 2020. Available at: https://www.thenewlocalism.com/newsletter/building-philadelphia-back-better-a-roadmap-for-inclusiveand-resilient-recovery/. 54
55
Philadelphia Equitable Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment and Strategy, May 2021, p. 4. 48
