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Superior educational opportunities for our youths in the inner city are few and far between and at least one generation of children had been inadequately educated by under-resourced public schools. Some of the most significant challenges that inner city residents face is access to the best-equipped educational institutions, access to economic empowerment and economic and social justice. To this end the political directorates, the government institutions and the social and private sectors must harness the resources necessary for the re-building of our inner city communities in Jamaica.
The very influential, Harvard University sociology professor and former advisor to President Bill Clinton, William J. Wilson (1995) builds strong cases for building social capital within communities. His Harvard colleague, Michael E. Porter agree with his arguments but believe that this social capital must be coupled with re-building the economic base of the community.
Today, many of our best and brightest choose to leave the communities of their birth to pursue lives in the wider metropolitan areas. Successful and educated inner city residents are no longer living in the neighborhoods where they grew up; they are increasingly moving to upscale neighbourhoods of the middle- and upper-middle class. One researcher calls this confluence of negative social and economic conditions the pre-cursors for inner city blight.
Stemming the tide of social capital flight from our inner cities poses a serious challenge. If former inner city residents of “legitimate” means, return to the inner city to develop businesses, become involved in the social life of the community and find the political will necessary to change communities, our inner cities will be transformed. Unfortunately, many leave our inner cities in great numbers because of political and economic victimization; residential discrimination; social disorder; crime and poor physical amenities.
Community development and economic development must be addressed simultaneously in order to truly revitalize inner city communities. Several research surveys conducted in Jamaica, Canada and the U.S.A., found that retailing demand of inner-city households is significant and, in some cases, surpass the demand of the average households in these countries. According to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey published in the year 2000 done in the USA found that inner city households in the United States often spend more on apparel, appliances and groceries than the average household, thereby demonstrating their extensive buying power. However, the reality in Jamaica does not reflect that finding in terms of retail business entry into the inner city communities.
Inner city business and economic development has the greatest potential to impact the lives of inner city residents in Jamaica. These investments and financial resources are critical due to the ability for new businesses to employ residents, provide a municipal tax base and bring products, services and resources to these communities. Business entry by established firms or start-ups into the inner city is of critical importance for the economic development of inner cities and the return of our much-needed social capital.
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