Community Development

Opportunity Zones Explorer

Check out the Opportunity Zones Explorer, a new tool that features investment activity and displacement risk in designated Opportunity Zones.

The State Small Business Credit Initiative

The State Small Business Credit Initiative examines how the U.S. as a whole and how the states that comprise the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District—Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee—met the financing needs of small businesses located in low- and moderate-income and rural areas.

Housing Market Perspectives

Fewer Tax Breaks for Homeowners: A Good Thing? Read how provisions of the new tax code, notably new limits on the mortgage interest deduction, could influence various aspects of housing choice.

Bridges

• New St. Louis Fed Tool Dives Deep into Community Investment
• Cash on Hand Is Critical for Avoiding Hardship
• Connecting a Memphis Community to the Built Environment through Equity

Community Investment Explorer

The Community Investment Explorer (CIE) interactive tool aggregates customizable data from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs to show geographic comparisons and trends over time.

The CIE draws on data from more than 500,000 community development transactions. Collectively, these programs are responsible for billions of dollars of investment into low- and moderate-income communities each year.

Why Invest in Workforce Development and What does It Take?

The Federal Reserve’s “Investing in America’s Workforce: Report on Workforce Development Needs and Opportunities” (PDF) seeks to answer those questions. Drawing from more than 50 focus groups from around the country, this report shares insights on opportunities to improve workforce outcomes and investments.

Areas for investment include:

• Supporting workforce intermediaries
• Strengthening early childhood education
• Increasing the access to and the quality of jobs

Check Investing in America’s Workforce for more resources.

Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities

Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities, published as a partnership between the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s agencies of Rural Development and the Agricultural Marketing Service, focuses on regional food systems as a means for enhancing economic opportunity. The publication can be viewed separately by article or downloaded in its entirety.