I. Purpose

On July 25, 2000 Florida International University (FIU) was authorized by the MiamiDade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) to formulate an Economic Development Implementation Plan (EDIP) to identify and assess the impediments to economic development in Miami-Dade County. The stimulus for BCC action came from an on-going dialogue within Mayor Alex Penelas’ Mosaic 2000 Partnership.

The goal of the implementation plan is to identify clear and workable economic development strategies, to increase benefits and the positive consequences of economic development programs, and to help ensure the most efficient investment of public and private resources. Initial analysis strongly suggested that the plan’s focus should be on economic development programs and funding mechanisms targeted to distressed neighborhoods within urban MiamiDade County. These neighborhoods are characterized by high poverty rates and unemployment, blighted physical conditions and overall private disinvestments. The racial composition of the neighborhoods is primarily African-American with pockets of Haitian-American and Hispanic populations of various national origins.

The EDIP process recognizes that there are inextricable links among economic development, social equity and the overall quality of life of a community.

The EDIP process also considered the competitive advantage of urban Miami-Dade within the larger countywide economy. The competitive advantage model weighs the economic capacity of a specific geographic area by assessing specific conditions that either enhance or diminish economic opportunity and investment. Areas can be defined at the regional, city, or neighborhood levels. The endowment of a locale’s factor conditions or inputs, including government, public infrastructure, skilled labor and capital is considered an important requisite for gaining a competitive advantage and a sustainable economic base in both regional and global markets.

The EDIP process recognizes that there are inextricable links among economic development, social equity and the overall quality of life of a community. For example, one of the major issues in urban economic development is the persistence of structural unemployment, the mismatch between labor supply and demand. The mismatch may also apply to worker skills, the discordance between job training and labor demands, which is an increasing problem given the pace of technological change.

The issue of structural unemployment deserves special attention because it is far more evident in Miami-Dade’s urban neighborhoods than in other areas of South Florida. It is particularly acute in minority and low-income innercity areas due to a combination of factors including poor public education, lack of formalized job training programs and chronic unemployment. This understanding is particularly important when considering economic development strategies designed for distressed neighborhoods within urban Miami-Dade County. The longstanding issues of poverty, unemployment, job training and public education represent economic and social barriers that impede sustainable community and economic development initiatives.

The longstanding issues of poverty, unemployment, job training and public education represent economic and social barriers that impede sustainable community and economic development initiatives.