ISSUE 117 | July 28, 2021
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From Around the Region and the State
Economic and Policy News
Well City challenge aims to improve millennial health and Black business 
Independence Blue Cross and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia have launched a social impact competition to identify strategies for improving the physical and mental health of the city’s millennial population.

Activities include workshops, a pitch challenge, and mentoring in areas of food and nutrition, community and social connection, and mind and body.

The winners will receive seed capital.
PA state police trying to remedy racial and gender issues
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The PA state police employs 4,588 people; approximately 93 percent are White and 87 percent are male.

Many organizations, including the NAACP, are advocating for greater focus on diversity in recruiting activities.

The state police indicate that program completion – not recruiting – is the issue, and the organization is responding with a new high school outreach program.
Policies in many states reducing presence of methane by limiting food waste
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To minimize the presence of methane in the environment, many states ban or limit food waste from agricultural output, food processing plants, and major institutions.


In 2017, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic shared recommendations for the PA Legislature to help the state better align with other mid-Atlantic and northeast states. 
From Around the Nation and the Globe
Economic and Policy News
Climate change reveals additional inequities in poor neighborhoods
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A recent study found that wealthier neighborhoods are home to 65 percent more trees than neighborhoods in high-poverty areas.

Trees serve multiple purposes, such as protecting people from the sun and lowering indoor temperatures during heat waves.

This disparity can be linked racist activities such as redlining, and policymakers may consider tree canopy analysis in other areas to mitigate these harmful outcomes.
Critical race theory remains a partisan controversy
Critical race theory espouses that racism is systemic, and that many of the nation’s current issues are deeply imbedded in its history.

The framework also connects structural racism and profitability.

In fact, Despite well-documented evidence of racial intolerance, critics argue that the theory itself is racist and functions primarily to foster guilt among the White population.
California’s Homekey Project improving access to affordable housing
California’s city of Fresno used state funding to shelter homeless residents in converted motels during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doing so also allowed for reinvestment in the properties, which were becoming blighted and crime-ridden.

The on-site presence of case managers, social workers, mental health professionals, and drug rehabilitation counselors help improve other outcomes.
Research Spotlight: The Institute has explored the nature of inequities throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Click here to access study of disparities amid COVID-19, and here to find redlining research.
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