Housing As Economic Development Tool Accelerating housing production in the low income neighborhoods, as part of the "Neighborhood Development Zone" concept, would accomplish the following: New Business Opportunities for Construction Trades: Increasing housing production would create opportunities for small businesses based in low income neighborhoods that are engaged in the construction trades (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, masons, landscapers, etc.). At Present the vast majority of new construction projects take place in distant suburban areas and, as a result, inner-city based businesses are at a competitive disadvantage in competing for the subcontracts. Increasing Community Wealth: By increasing the percentage of home ownership in a community you simultaneously increases the overall "equity" capital generally available to community residents. Such equity would then be available for use as collateral for new obtaining business and other loans. Summary of How Housing Production can be Greatly Accelerated: The expansion of production could be accomplished by utilizing ideas summarized in other parts of this proposal. These would include: expanding the funds available to the "Surtax" program through new state legislation: leveraging HOME and Surtax dollars; streamlining the construction approval process; making available more predevelopment funds; maintaining the level of CDBG and HOME administrative funding for CDCS; County assistance with the land assembly puzzle, etc. Focus Economic Development Assistance to Take Advantage of the New Market Opportunities: Economic development assistance should be specifically targeted towards eliminating the barriers preventing subcontracting firms in the Zones from participating in the new market opportunities. Unless such assistance is connected to actual market opportunities county funding technical assistance and loan programs alone will not produce the desired result. Such assistance should include "accounts receivable" financing, new mechanisms to help firms meet any bonding requirements, programs to provide equity injections into subcontracting businesses, effective hands-on assistance with the bidding and contract management process. etc.