Shaun Donovan
Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

A half-century ago, America’s cities were in crisis—literally burning, losing population and “hollowed out” by federal policies that shifted investment away from the urban core and by a housing system that didn’t prioritize affordable rental housing or access to job centers. Washington took a “one size fits all” approach to governing—failing to recognize the importance of partnering with local governments and institutions..

Today, cities are growing again and are increasingly seen as attractive places to live. Problem-solving largely occurs at the local level—across political party lines, inside and outside government. And we see the interactions more clearly between housing and health, education, and energy use.

None of this progress happened by accident. It happened in large part because a “third sector” of philanthropies and non-profits emerged to become some of our most sophisticated housing developers and important civic institutions. These leaders understood a simple truth: that the complex problems our cities were facing could not be addressed in isolation—and that interconnected problems required interconnected solutions. Thus, Living Cities was born.

In just two decades, the approximately $1 billion Living Cities’ members have invested into our communities has leveraged an astonishing $16 billion—many times the initial investment.

Just as impressive is the way Living Cities has used these investments to help cities understand that financial literacy, health care and education are central to community development.

In Cincinnati, where studies showed too many of the city’s low-income residents lacked the skills to join the workforce, the city’s innovative Strive partnership has helped unite local partners across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to improve student achievement and the Cincinnati education system—and since the program’s inception, college enrollment has increased by 10 percent in Cincinnati’s public schools. Now, Living Cities is working to bring Strive to cities across the country with the “Strive National” partnership.

But children are by no means the only ones to have learned as a result of Living Cities. At the federal level, Living Cities has helped teach us to work more effectively with a bottom-up approach, listening to the concerns of local communities and breaking through silos to help address them.

With HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods initiative, we’re echoing the Strive model by bringing to bear private capital and mixed-use, mixed-income tools to transform distressed housing in low-income neighborhoods and by tying our efforts to the Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods education reform initiative, which offers children support from “cradle to career.”

By jointly awarding nearly $170 million in sustainable communities grants with the Department of Transportation, we are helping regions and communities develop comprehensive housing and transportation plans to give them a built-in competitive edge in attracting jobs and private investment. And through its Integration Initiative, Living Cities is reinforcing this work by helping five regions—three of which received these grants from HUD—tackle the greatest barriers to opportunity for low-income residents, including education, housing, health care, transit, and jobs.

Forging those partnerships is the legacy of Living Cities. It’s why I’m proud to honor the remarkable 20-year history of this organization—and can only begin to imagine where the next 20 will take us.