Advancing Our Understanding of Urban Economics

Good afternoon. We’re pleased you have joined us to hear firsthand about some of the most interesting and relevant research being done in the field of urban and regional economics. All of us at the Richmond Fed hope this is just one of many opportunities we’ll have to collaborate and exchange ideas. Before I share any of my own ideas, I should note that the views I express today are my own and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or any other member of the Federal Open Market Committee.1 Why is the Richmond Fed interested in urban economics? In a sense, the answer can be traced back to 1977 and the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This law was intended to discourage “redlining,” or, more precisely, to encourage banks “to help meet the credit needs of local communities in which they are chartered.” The CRA set up a process by which citizens and community groups could protest if they believed a bank was discriminating against a particular neighborhood. Initially, community groups needed help navigating the administrative process of filing a protest, so some Reserve Banks set up functions to provide that help. The Board of Governors asked every regional Reserve Bank to establish a similar function, and by 1981, community development had a presence throughout the System.