The Conditions of Opportunity
Human beings can survive under remarkably difficult circumstances. In August 2010, 33 Chilean miners where trapped in a mine collapse nearly a kilometer underground and lived in their small chamber for 69 days. In 2014, Jose Salvador Alvarenga landed on a small island in the Marshall Islands after drifting away from the Mexican coast 438 days earlier in a small fishing boat – his resourcefulness and faith had kept him alive during the extended ordeal.
We are capable of surviving extreme conditions but when we think about living well, it takes more than the basics of water, food and shelter. Cities are highly resilient. Historically a great many have survived floods, famines, wars and all manner of pestilence. Growth and flourishing, however, requires more than just the basics. Full forms of human flourishing require that we are able to act in ways that support our growth as individuals and communities beyond basic needs.
Opportunity reflects those extended elements in our surroundings that go beyond basics. We can think of opportunities as circumstances or conditions that allow us to act in ways that are beneficial to us and others. We may have a few seeds and, noting some soil and a sunny spot, decide to plant them. Mechanical skills we have developed over time may turn out to be useful when our car breaks down. Markets that are fair enable the exchange of goods which encourages us to buy, sell, trade and exchange what we have to obtain what we don’t.
These exchanges with other people represent a significant core of the opportunity that draws us to new places, including cities. Many factors contribute to the growth of opportunity.
First, people with wide ranges of skills are required for any city or community to prosper. Talent has many dimensions, including abilities that are passed along and nurtured in us through the people that live around us. Making good use of the skills and knowledge that citizens possess is essential for cities flourish.
Second, talent can compound value when abilities among people are deployed to do something new, offer a service that wasn’t previously available, deliver a product that people want. Innovation and entrepreneurship exist in a huge range of forms and scales from the individual to the largest of corporations. Talent in action fuels capabilities that mix and blend, leading to innovations that spark more possibilities. In some cases, digital technologies are leveraged to develop products that billions of people use every day. In other cases, a notable density of writers, artists and musicians fuel significant cultural growth and development.
Third, sustaining innovation and talent requires some form of institutional learning. Higher education provides continuity in learning so that the need for talent and innovation can be continuously met. The demand for certain skills and capabilities – from advanced mathematics to local literature – is an opportunity for cities and communities to create greater value (materially, culturally, socially and in many other ways) by making sure citizens can access that education. Cities have often drawn people to move to them by offering opportunities to learn.
Fourth, the power of opportunity is compounded in yet other ways when all citizens have access to learning, growth in talent, and innovation. Gender equity reflects a critical capacity for opening up far greater opportunities in any setting, including in cities. Healthy communities require that citizens can participate in building the city, physically, socially, culturally and many other ways.
Finally, if the foregoing four opportunity dynamics are in place, there is a much greater chance that valuable supports for children and youth are in place. The caring dynamics of an active and healthy community characterized by opportunity opens channels of growth that the young and vulnerable can access. This allows them to mature as fully contributing member of their society, fueling a cycle of benefits that underpin significant drivers of city and community well-being.
Our basic needs are essential but can only reach their full measure when opportunities to grow beyond essentials are in place. Cities are uniquely situated to provide these if the conditions for growth and advancement are carefully attended to.
For more information, Contact:
Milton Friesen, General Manager