Revitalizing Inner Cities: Connecting Research and Practice

America’s inner cities are often depicted as socially and economically dysfunctional places, ridden with crime, lacking investment and with limited opportunities. For decades, however, researchers have been noting the heterogeneous nature of inner cities. Inner cities often have particular advantages, including a strategic location near central business districts, proximity to transportation infrastructure, communication nodes and other regional assets, a relatively young population and a strong entrepreneurial drive among residents, all of which position them to compete and integrate successfully with their economic regions.