Next City

After a year marked by the undermining of public resources, community development is adapting by finding ways to make progress more resilient.In this episode, Next City Senior Economic Justice Correspondent Oscar Perry Abello looks back at some of the biggest stories from a turbulent year on his beat and draws on what he heard during a national book tour for “The Banks We Deserve.”It’s not all bad news, as Abello looks for signs of a response to the disruptions.“I think maybe just maybe we are entering an uptick in the wave—the up and down waves of community power in community and economic development,” said Abello.Abello highlights the examples of Philadelphia’s Kensington Corridor Trust, the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, and Denver’s Tierra Colectiva, showing how each model for community-led ownership is evolving the sector. Plus, Abello outlines where community development leaders are exploring new sources of funding beyond Washington.

nextcity.org Next City’s Top Stories on Economic Justice in 2025

Catch up on this year’s most-read reporting on inclusive finance, community development and economic empowerment.

https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/next-citys-top-stories-on-economic-justice-in-2025

nextcity.org

The Banks We Deserve

Oscar Perry Abello’s new book shows how banks’ money-creation power can be democratized. Helping communities tap into that power could address our climate, housing and economic crises.

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As federal investment withdraws from communities already disadvantaged, city-builders are searching for ways to make progress, which may first require Americans to find common ground and reclaim a shared sense of the public good.

In this episode, recorded live at the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network’s annual conference, Dr. Lauren Smith, Vice President of Strategic Portfolios at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, discusses the role philanthropy can realistically play as federal disinvestment threatens communities. (Next City is funded in part by RWJF.)

Drawing on her background as a pediatrician and public health leader, Smith pushes back on narratives that frame well-being as an individual rather than a collective responsibility.“There’s a strong tradition in the United States of individualism, in the idea that you alone are responsible for your health and well-being, and if you just make better choices, you can obtain health on your own,” said Smith. “As a public health person and as a clinician, I can tell you that that’s not accurate, both just logically and philosophically.”

Smith calls for greater acknowledgment of policies and programs that advance the “public good” and cites a RWJF-commissioned survey that identifies common ground across political and geographic divides.“There were key aspects that people really did agree on, especially around as it relates to their community,” said Smith. “People are incredibly concerned about affordability, and that cuts across all sorts of groups—affordability of housing, affordability for their neighbors.” 

“They didn't call it displacement, but essentially they were saying, we are concerned that affordability is going to lead to displacement,” she said.

Live recording in November in partnership with the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network. Lucas interviews in fireside chat with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Sponsored Episode with the Culture & Community Power Fund and Kresge Foundation

Sponsored Episode with the Culture & Community Power Fund and Kresge Foundation

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