Building Civic Infrastructure in Smaller Cities

Abstract

This chapter reports on the Boston Federal Reserve's Working Cities Challenge, an initiative designed to help economically struggling cities across New England pursue redevelopment opportunities. The initiative stresses the development of civic infrastructure in cities, which is defined as high-capacity leaders, organizations, and networks mobilizing residents and resources to pursue a shared vision of community redevelopment. The chapter describes development tools made available to cities seeking to assess and build their own civic infrastructures in the service of promoting economic growth and opportunity. Some of the tools have been piloted in the winning cities, all of which provide communities with important insights into their own civic infrastructures.