Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 64
Communities in the Lake Tahoe basin have long relied on tourism activities such as hospitality, food service, skiing, and gaming.
In the past decade, these communities have sought to diversify their economy with an emphasis on the culture of recreation that
infuses priority economic-activity clusters: health and wellness, environmental conservation, manufacturing, and recreation.
A basin-wide stakeholder engagement process in the early 2010s led to the formation of the Tahoe Prosperity Center to steer
community and economic development eforts.74 Residents and visitors are attracted to the Lake Tahoe area’s natural resources
and recreation amenities. The recreation-oriented economic strategy that its communities have adopted makes sense, because
the strategy broadly reflects the area’s history, identity, and culture.75
Address Marginalization and Exclusion
To efectively represent the various elements of their culture,
economically resilient communities must practice inclusivity in
planning and response, maximizing the economic potential and
participation of all residents and neighborhoods.76 Local governments
must seek to build capacity and relationships of trust to shape the
economic priorities of all corners of their geography and population.
In addition, they must directly address historic marginalization and
injustice by including the economic development goals and needs of
underrepresented residents as a top priority.
Economic disruptions may present opportunities to reimagine and reenvision priorities from communities that were excluded from planning
Inclusion of historically underrepresented groups is
processes and that experienced disinvestment or destructive projects.
vitally important to economic resilience.
In the following examples, economic development planning processes
included partnership and encouraged relationships of trust with racial
and minority groups that have historically been lef out of policy and planning processes. These processes opened the doors to
new ideas and set new priorities, especially for improving access to resources and generating new economic activity.
The Fresno DRIVE (Developing the Region’s Inclusive and Vibrant Economy) initiative set out to make broad-based community
participation and racial equity and inclusion the focal point of economic development planning.77 Compared with other
communities in the nation and California, Fresno scored low on racial and economic inclusion. In response, various civic
and business groups joined forces with community organizations and residents to collaborate on economic and community
planning. The process led to a 10-year investment priority plan highlighting racial inclusion and equity. With the help of key civic
leadership entities and national technical assistance, Fresno DRIVE engaged hundreds of community and business entities
to establish a business plan and set priorities for investment in workforce education and training, infrastructure, afordable
housing, data systems, small business, and downtown and corridor revitalization. The Racial Equity Advisory Committee (REAC)
and Civic Infrastructure for Low-Opportunity Neighborhoods working group collaborated with investment teams to ensure that
project investments were enabling historically marginalized communities.
In the early 2010s, the City of Salinas created an economic development plan by establishing an inclusive process that
significantly engaged community-based organizations and residents.78 The city and consultant partners created multiple
methods and tools that engaged community members, both at home and elsewhere. The processes and tools encouraged the
participation of Spanish speakers, undocumented individuals, and those with varying levels of literacy. The process yielded
priority investment and project areas for small business, child care, workforce and youth development, and poverty reduction.
74
Applied Development Economics, “Lake Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan,” November 2010
https://tahoeprosperity.org/wp-content/uploads/LTBPP_Final_Report.pdf
75
Tahoe Prosperity Center, “Envision Tahoe: Lake Tahoe Prosperity Plan 2.0”https://tahoeprosperity.org/envision-tahoe
76
Parilla, Joseph, “Opportunity for Growth: How Reducing Barriers to Economic Inclusion Can Benefit Workers, Firms, and Local Economies,” Brookings
Metropolitan Policy Program, September 2017.
77
Hackler, Darrene, and Ellen Harpel, “Fresno DRIVE: Drilling Down to Reflect a History of Inequitable Growth” in Reflecting Community Priorities in Economic
Development Planning, Smart Incentives, December 2020. https://smartincentives.org/wp-content/uploads/33591_SmartIncentives_Report.pdf
78
Shirazi, Sahar, et. al., Governor’s Ofice of Planning and Research. “Partnering for Increased Engagement in Salinas” in General Plan Guidelines, 2017,
pp. 34–35. https://opr.ca.gov/docs/OPR_C7_final.pdf
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