1、1 A listing of the 40 RCs (28 urban and 12 rural) appears on page 6 of this report.Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21220May 17, 2002Renewal Communities Initiative: Background and OverviewBruce K. MulockSpecialist i
2、n Government and BusinessGovernment and Finance DivisionSummaryWith the January 2002 designation of 40 areas located in some 20 states,1 theRenewal Communities (RC) Initiative (P.L. 106-554) has taken on concrete form. Theconcept of Renewal Communities, whose origins may be seen as stretching back m
3、orethan 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 provisionsdesigned to revive some of the nations more impov
4、erished areas. In important respects,however, the two programs employ different means to achieve similar goals. This reportwill be updated as events warrant.BackgroundDuring most of the nations history, two key factors led to limited interactionbetween federal and municipal governments. First, citiz