Long Beach Joins Closing The Gaps Network

Long Beach CA

28 March, 2022

10:12 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Long Beach: March 25, 2022 Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach is one of 21 cities across the nation pledging a 10-year commitment towards implementing policies, practices and operations to eliminate racial disparities for its residents. This announcement comes after Living Cities announced an expansion of the Closing the Gaps Network (Network), its signature initiative with city governments to eliminate racial disparities in income and wealth. "Long Beach is proud to be part of the Living Cities Closing the Gaps Network and pledge our commitment towards institutional change," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "As a diverse city, it is critical that our policies reflect the needs of our community. Our Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative has made tremendous progress over the past year and will continue to help us create practices with an equity-first lens that will best serve our community." Closing the Gaps Network participants share a vision for what a racially equitable, just and prosperous society can look like. They have previously worked on initiatives focused on closing racial income and wealth gaps such as inclusive procurement, guaranteed income payments and sales taxes that support inclusive economic development. As members of the Network, they have access to cross-city learning opportunities as well as technical assistance providers, facilitators, resources, and connections to other networks of practitioners working to create equitable impact. "This commitment aligns with our groundbreaking Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative and is just one of the many we are making to ensure Long Beach is a city where residents of all backgrounds, incomes and abilities can thrive," said City Manager Tom Modica. In this next phase, members of the Network will design equitable strategies to support the closing of income and wealth gaps in their cities. This will include establishing interventions that support the increase of homeownership rates among people of color, as well as entrepreneurship rates. The Network's goals closely align with Goal 4 of the Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative to "improve health and wellness in the City by eliminating social and economic disparities in the communities most impacted by racism." Some of the potential actions include advancing economic equity through geographically-based Economic Empowerment Zones, inclusive, neighborhood-based business navigation services, and improving access to local jobs for Black people and people of color. To advance safe, healthy, and affordable housing, Reconciliation uplifts strategies to create a sustainable loan program, down-payment assistance programs, silent second mortgage programs, and exploring investment in alternative forms of land/property ownership, such as a community land trust. Long Beach appears alongside cities such as Sacramento, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The complete list of cities can be found on the Living Cities website. The Closing the Gaps Network is supported by Living Cities' members, which are some of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions. "The equitable strategies that the Closing the Gaps Network will implement have been shown to create billions of dollars in economic activity for city and regional economies," said Joe Scantlebury, Living Cities President and CEO. "By applying a racial equity analysis to how their city operates across private, philanthropic and public sectors, the Closing the Gaps members will provide tangible benefits for residents of color while also improving economic opportunities for all." About the City of Long Beach Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Development Services and more. The City also has a highly-respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, five golf courses, 171 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths, and a Bike Share program. For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit http://longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. About Living Cities Founded in 1991, Living Cities is a collaborative of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions. Living Cities fosters transformational relationships across sectors to connect those who are willing to do the hard work of closing racial income and wealth gaps. The organization partners with cross-sector leaders in cities across the country to imagine and create an America in which all people are economically secure, building wealth and living abundant, dignified, and connected lives. To learn more about Living Cities and its member institutions, visit www.livingcities.org. About the Closing the Gaps Network A ten-year initiative launched in October 2020 to bring together leaders from cities across the country who are committed to imagining what an anti-racist society might look like, and to playing an important role in closing racial income and wealth gaps through the transformation of local policies, practices, and operations. This press release was produced by the City of Long Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.