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Numerous industries have been negatively impacted by the pandemic with many scrambling to adapt and a select few able to respond swiftly. Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) have exposed the core weaknesses behind U.S. overreliance on global supply chains for critical medical products, raising concerns about resiliency in American advanced manufacturing. Prior to the COVID crisis, U.S. manufacturers struggled with global cost-competitiveness, however, innovation in the industry and new pressure on reshoring presents new opportunities for the industry and its workforce in a post COVID economy. 

In a webinar hosted by the Urban Institute’s WorkRise network titled How Economic Forces and Racial Inequity Shape Opportunity and Mobility, professionals from around the country engaged in a discussion to address economic mobility and transforming a low-wage economy.

Ruston is a college town of almost 22,000 in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, and the home of Louisiana Tech University with a student body of about 17,000 students. On April 25th, 2019,  an EF-3 tornado with winds as strong as 165 mph tore through northern Louisiana. Ruston suffered immense devastation as the tornado passed directly through the middle of the city, leaving severe damage to homes, businesses, and several facilities owned by Louisiana Tech. The wreckage of the tornado highlighted the importance of the role that development planning has not only for economic prosperity, but also for hazard mitigation and resilience.