Number: RS21220
Title: Renewal Communities Initiative: Background and Overview
Authors: Bruce K. Mulock, Government and Finance Division 
Abstract: With the January 2002 designation of 40 areas located in some 20 states, the Renewal Communities (RC) Initiative (P.L. 106-554) has taken on concrete form. The concept of RCs, whose origins may be seen as stretching back more than two decades, nevertheless represents a major new economic development initiative. And, as with the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Program (P.L. 103-66) enacted in 1993, the RC Initiative combines tax credits and other provisions designed to revive some of the nation's more impoverished areas. In important respects, however, the two programs employ different means to achieve similar goals.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated May 17, 2002