Making a difference: Municipal bond markets to disrupt systemic inequities

The $4 trillion municipal bond market is one of the largest pools of private investment capital flowing into America's states and localities, shaping the built environment in communities across the country and directly impacting health and equity. Through a $4 million grant, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking to identify the factors in a municipal bond issuance that can create progress toward equity. In addition, the grant will fund the development of tools that issuers can use to center equity in municipal bond-funded infrastructure investments and measure how the factors that shape equity are changing in a jurisdiction over time. This first-of-its kind effort aims to empower communities across America to leverage bond market investments to disrupt historic, systemic racial inequities. (author abstract)