Introduced in 1993, the Empowerment Zone (EZ), Enterprise Community (EC), and Renewal Community (RC) Initiatives sought to reduce unemployment and generate economic growth through the designation of Federal tax incentives and award of grants to distressed communities. Local, Tribal, and State governments interested in participating in this program were required to present comprehensive plans that included the following principles: Strategic Visions for Change, Community-Based Partnerships, Economic Opportunities, and Sustainable Community Development. Communities selected to participate in this program embraced these principles and led projects that promoted economic development in their distressed communities. The EZ/EC initiative was implemented in the form of three competitions authorized by Congress in 1994 (round I), 1998 (round II), and 2001 (round III). The EC designation expired in 2004 and EZ and RC designations generally expired at the end of 2009. However, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-312 extended the Empowerment Zone and DC Enterprise Zone designations to December 31, 2011. Following the end of the first EZ designation extension on December 31, 2011, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012, signed into law by President Obama on January 2, 2013, provided for an extension of the Empowerment Zone designations for Empowerment Zone Tax Credit purposes only until December 31, 2013. The ATRA of 2012 did not extend the designation of the DC Enterprise Zone. The third retroactive extension of the Empowerment Zone designation, for the purpose claiming EZ tax credits only, was the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (TIPA 2014). TIPA 2014 was signed into law by President Obama on December 19, 2014 and extended the EZ designation for the purpose of businesses and entities claiming EZ tax incentives until December 31, 2014. TIPA 2014 did not extend the designation of the DC Enterprise Zone. To learn more about Empowerment Zones Renewal and Enterprise Communities (EZRC) visit: https://www.hud.gov/hudprograms/empowerment_zones, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Data Dictionary: DD_Empowerment Zones Renewal and Enterprise Communities

Date of Coverage: Through 2014

The Department of Housing and Urban Development identifies distressed urban and rural communities that may be eligible for a combination of grants, tax credits for businesses, bonding authority and other benefits.

Boundary of the 1994 federal empowerment zone.

KML file of empowerment Zone boundaries in Chicago. To view or use these files, special GIS software, such as Google Earth, is required. The Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities program (EZ/EC) is a Federal, State, local government partnership for stimulating comprehensive renewal--particularly economic growth and social development--in distressed urban neighborhoods and rural areas across the nation. For more information, go to http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/economicdevelopment/programs/rc/

Title 12 of the Local Government Code, Section 378.002 requires that the creation of the City of Dallas Neighborhood Empowerment Zones. City of Dallas Neighborhood Empowerment Zones promote an increase in economic development in the zones by promoting increased business and commercial activity, job retention and job growth by smaller businesses, increased occupancy of existing building space, reinvestment in existing building stock, and workforce development job training programs. Details about the data can be requested from Kevin Spath. Polygon features created by Ridvan Kirimli - ridvan.kirimli@dallascityhall.com. Backup if Ridvan is not available contact Kevin Spath - kevin.spath@dallascityhall.com.

Empowerment Zone boundaries in Chicago. To view or use these files, compression software and special GIS software, such as ESRI ArcGIS, is required. The Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities program (EZ/EC) is a Federal, State, local government partnership for stimulating comprehensive renewal--particularly economic growth and social development--in distressed urban neighborhoods and rural areas across the nation. For more information, go to http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/economicdevelopment/programs/rc/.

A line feature class of the Empowerment Zone boundaries within Miami-Dade County, derived from pre-selected U.S. Census Tracts.Updated: Not Planned The data was created using: Projected Coordinate System: WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_SphereProjection: Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere

Web map used in new and current Enterprise Zones web app.

A polygon feature class of the Miami-Dade County Empowerment Zones with U.S. Census Tracts. Empowerment Zones define poverty areas.Updated: Not Planned The data was created using: Projected Coordinate System: WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_SphereProjection: Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere

This map data layer represents the boundary for the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Zone. The data is divided into sections which separate expansion areas from the original enterprise zone area. These sections have no meaning relevance to the eligibility of properties within the zone.

The City has three State Enterprise Zones (SEZ): Los Angeles-Hollywood; East Los Angeles; and Harbor Gateway Communities. Each Zone provides business owners within the Zone boundaries with State incentives such as tax credits and deductions for hiring eligible employees, credits for sales and use taxes paid on qualifying machinery and electronic equipment, additional business expense deductions, and credits to lenders for loans made to Enterprise Zone businesses.

Polygon geometry with attributes displaying enterprise zones in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.Metadata

Visit the Enterprise Zone Program website with any questionsThis web layer contains sub layers for the following Census geographies: counties, tracts, block groups, Census designated places, and county subdivisions. In addition, there is a layer displaying which Census blocks have 'graduated out' - meaning they do not qualify based on any of the above geographies but lie in a current Enterprise Zone.

This layer is intended for researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production. This layer will provide a basemap for layers related to socio-political analysis, statistical enumeration and analysis, or to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. More advanced user applications may focus on demographics, urban and rural land use planning, socio-economic analysis and related areas (including defining boundaries, managing assets and facilities, integrating attribute databases with geographic features, spatial analysis, and presentation output.)

Polygon coverage depicting the Preference Zone for Jefferson County, target area for development incentives. Formerly known as Enterprise Zone, the Preference Zone is the same area and offers the same incentivies under the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. View detailed metadata.

This map layer shows enterprise zones in the City of Columbus. Enterprise zone is a designation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The designation may indicate the availability of tax concessions, which are offered to encourage business investment and provide jobs for residents.

View metadata for key information about this dataset.The Philadelphia Empowerment Zone is a community endowment that makes annual grants for economic development within certain geographic boundaries. Data includes commercial and industrial zones, i.e. areas with specific federal-granted special amenities (tax incentives, loans/grants) meant to attract and support businesses in blighted areas. Blighted areas are defined as meeting one of seven city mandated criteria, including unsafe, unsanitary and inadequate conditions; economically or socially undesirable land use; and faulty street and lot layout.For questions about this dataset, contact james.onofrio@phila.gov. For technical assistance, email maps@phila.gov.

This data shows the boundaries of the enterprise zone located in the City of Winchester, Virginia.

The city of Newport News has two Virginia Enterprise Zones, with these Enterprise Zones designated in four separate parts of the city. Virginia Enterprise Zones provide state and local grants and local tax abatements for qualifying for-profit companies that create new full-time jobs and new taxable investment.For more information, visit the Newport News Economic Development Authority.

This application shows the enterprise zone and historic district boundaries in the City of Winchester, Virginia.