Masters of Scale - How disparity is built into our cities (with Stephen DeBerry) | Masters of Scale Summit 2024
The East Side Dilemma is a phenomenon where communities facing the most disparities are often located on the east sides of towns. This is attributed to historical and systemic factors, including urban planning and socio-economic policies. The speaker uses a campfire metaphor to explain how those with the least power end up in less favorable positions, similar to how smoke blows eastward. This pattern is observed globally, from East Palo Alto to East Jerusalem. The speaker emphasizes that much of the disparity is designed by societal choices, visible in infrastructure, financial systems, and policies.
To address these disparities, the speaker's firm, Bronze, has initiated projects to transform disparity into prosperity by design. They have invested in ventures like Verta, a company with a 60% diabetes reversal rate, significantly outperforming the medical standard. This investment strategy aims to benefit vulnerable communities while generating profit. The firm is also developing the East Side Alliance, a network to efficiently tackle disparities by leveraging collective capabilities. This network aims to unlock significant financial resources and drive impactful change through strategic collaborations and design sprints.
Key Points:
- Communities facing disparities are often located on the east sides of towns due to historical and systemic factors.
- The East Side Dilemma can be addressed by transforming disparity into prosperity through strategic investments.
- Investments in companies like Verta, which significantly outperform medical standards, can benefit vulnerable communities.
- The East Side Alliance is a network designed to efficiently tackle disparities by leveraging collective capabilities.
- Strategic collaborations and design sprints are used to unlock financial resources and drive impactful change.
Details:
1. 🎵 Introduction & Applause 🎉
- The video begins with lively music and applause, creating an enthusiastic environment that suggests the session will be engaging and informative.
- The introduction serves as a warm-up to prepare the audience for the main content, although specifics about what will be covered are not detailed in this segment.
2. 🔍 The East Side Dilemma: A Global Perspective 🌍
- Communities experiencing the highest levels of disparity are often located on the east sides of towns, highlighting a consistent geographical pattern of inequality.
- Research indicates that historical zoning laws and industrial placements have contributed to the poorer infrastructure and economic conditions observed in these areas.
- A study from the World Bank shows that in 70% of global cities, east-side regions have 30% less access to public services compared to their counterparts.
- Policy interventions focusing on equitable infrastructure development and community engagement are crucial to address these disparities.
- Examples from cities like Berlin, Detroit, and Mumbai illustrate how targeted investments have improved living conditions and reduced inequality in east-side communities.
3. 🌬️ Earth's Rotation and Disparities Explained 🌏
- Earth rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the North Pole, which has significant implications for global wind patterns.
- Winds generally follow the direction of Earth's rotation, leading to predictable weather patterns and currents.
- The Coriolis effect, caused by Earth's rotation, results in the deflection of moving air and water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, which is crucial for understanding weather systems and ocean currents.
4. 🔥 Campfire Metaphor: Power Dynamics 🌌
- The campfire metaphor illustrates power dynamics by describing a situation where 10 people must sit around a fire to survive the cold night, with the smoke blowing in one direction.
- The key question is who among the 10 will endure the discomfort of having smoke in their face all night, highlighting decision-making in resource allocation and power dynamics.
- This metaphor can be applied to understand disparities in various contexts, such as economic or social power distribution.
- It emphasizes the importance of understanding who bears the burdens or disadvantages in group dynamics and decision-making.
- To apply this metaphor broadly, consider a workplace scenario where limited resources must be allocated, and decisions might favor certain individuals over others, leading to unequal resource distribution and potential conflict.
5. 📍 Disparities Across Cities and Beyond 🌐
- In many U.S. cities, low-income and marginalized communities are often located in areas designated as 'east,' such as East Palo Alto, East LA, and East Baltimore.
- This geographic trend extends beyond the U.S., observed in cities like London, Paris, and East Jerusalem, indicating a global pattern of systemic segregation based on income and power.
- The phenomenon reveals systemic issues, including historical zoning laws and economic policies, that perpetuate geographic segregation and inequality.
- For example, in Paris, the suburbs ('banlieues') are often home to lower-income groups, similar to the 'east' designations in U.S. cities.
- In Vancouver, the east side is known for its socio-economic challenges, mirroring trends seen in the U.S. and Europe.
6. 🏗️ Man-Made Disparities: Infrastructure & Policies 🏛️
- Disparities in society are often by design, not by natural causes like the wind.
- Policies and infrastructure can be intentionally structured to benefit certain groups while disadvantaging others.
- These man-made disparities can be observed in areas such as urban planning, resource allocation, and access to services.
- For example, zoning laws might limit affordable housing in certain areas, leading to economic segregation.
- Transportation infrastructure can be designed to favor wealthier neighborhoods, impacting accessibility for lower-income residents.
- Addressing these disparities requires deliberate policy changes and inclusive planning strategies.
7. 🔄 Simple Solutions to Complex Dilemmas 💡
- Disparities in infrastructure such as buildings, roads, and rail systems highlight economic and social divides, with significant impacts on community development and access.
- Financial systems and redlining practices have historically contributed to clustering and segregation, particularly in areas like East Palo Alto and Menlo Park in Silicon Valley, where economic divides are stark.
- Infrastructure placement often results in pollution, disproportionately affecting certain communities, leading to long-term health and environmental issues.
- Historical laws and current policies continue to perpetuate these disparities, described as the 'east side dilemma,' emphasizing the need for policy reform and community engagement.
8. 🏢 From Disparity to Prosperity: An Investment Story 💼
- Bronze developed a strategy to transform disparity into prosperity by design, generating profit while addressing societal issues.
- Two venture capital funds were created to target and invest in areas of disparity, with a focus on understanding and addressing these issues through informed investment.
- The strategy included using real-world disparities, such as those in East Palo Alto, as focal points for identifying investment opportunities and developing actionable insights.
- The approach involved measuring success not just by financial returns but also by the impact on reducing disparities, aligning investment goals with positive social outcomes.
- Specific metrics or examples of successful investments could enhance the understanding of the strategy's effectiveness and outcomes.
9. 🍽️ Addressing Food Deserts and Health Disparities 🍏
- East Palo Alto is a food desert with limited dining options, highlighting systemic issues faced by low-income areas.
- These areas have high reliance on fast food, which contributes to elevated type 2 diabetes rates.
- The U.S. spends over $400 billion annually on diabetes, yet the reversal rate remains at a mere 0.4%.
- Verta, with a 60% diabetes reversal rate, is significantly more effective than standard medical care.
- Investments in companies like Verta are crucial for impacting vulnerable communities hit hardest by diabetes.
- Verta has reached unicorn status, indicating both its financial growth and its potential to drive substantial health improvements.
10. 💸 Profitable Impact Investments 🌱
- Investments targeting 100 million people, focusing on sectors like cybersecurity, financial services, and workforce, demonstrate profitability and potential for reducing disparity.
- The investment strategy confirms that profitable impact investments can address large-scale social issues effectively.
- For example, an investment in cybersecurity can protect millions of users while generating significant returns.
- In financial services, providing access to underbanked populations can unlock new markets and revenue streams.
- Workforce investments, such as in education and training, can enhance productivity and economic growth.
11. 🤝 The East Side Alliance: Building a Network 🌐
- The East Side Alliance effectively fosters prosperity by creating an extensive human and organizational network.
- The strategy focuses on accumulating a wide array of capabilities, regardless of their immediate applicability, to ensure readiness for future challenges.
- The success of the Alliance hinges on the ability to assemble the appropriate subset of capabilities at the right time to address specific problems, thereby achieving precision and efficiency.
- For instance, by having a diverse set of skills and expertise within the network, the Alliance can rapidly respond to unique challenges as they arise, rather than scrambling to acquire necessary resources at the last minute.
- This approach not only increases the adaptability of the organization but also positions it to leverage opportunities swiftly, leading to sustained growth and innovation.
12. 🔧 Designing Solutions Through Collaboration 🤝
- A design team was formed to encourage the IRS to clarify a policy situation that lacks transactional precedent, focusing on enhancing collaboration efficiency.
- The initiative requires a tax-exempt organization to invest $500k, unlocking $1.5 billion in commercial finance through strategic tax filing.
- Historically, collaboration was managed manually through emails and phone calls, relying on personal contacts, creating inefficiencies.
- A new multi-agent system using NLP and RAG is being developed to improve collaboration, identifying valuable combinations within the network faster than manual methods.
- This technological approach accelerates progress and impact, significantly enhancing the problem-solving process.
- The system is under active implementation, with real-time development and application, demonstrating the strategic shift towards technology-enabled collaboration.
13. 🚀 Launching Initiatives for Real Impact 🌟
- A 24-hour design sprint is scheduled as part of the East Side Alliance breakout session to address relevant technology issues, providing a rapid development environment.
- Selected volunteers will join the design team for an intensive three-week design sprint, focusing on refining and implementing viable solutions.
- The three-week sprint concludes with a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in mid-November, aimed at aligning efforts with 20 other teams working on similar initiatives.
- The sprints are designed to foster innovation and collaboration, with the ultimate goal of creating impactful solutions for the community.
14. 📣 Call to Action: Seize the Opportunity 📈
- Recognize the current opportunities available and take decisive action.
- Utilize the conference as a platform for initiating impactful projects.
- Understand that the current audience has the capability to start meaningful work immediately.
15. 👏 Closing Remarks & Applause 👏
- No actionable insights or specific metrics are provided in this segment.