Philly's push for inclusive city contracts

Rebuild Ready, a city program created to provide administrative and technical support to diverse talent, helped train 96 businesses to compete for local government contracts.

• Nearly 89% of those businesses are owned by people of color.

Why it matters: More than 65% of Philadelphia identifies as a race other than white, per the City Controller's Office.

• The city aims to have a third of companies contracted for a city project be owned and run by people of color this year.

Of note: Roughly 30% of city contractors were business owners of color last year.

Flashback: Mayor Jim Kenney launched the Rebuild Ready program in 2019 as part of his $425 million public works program Rebuild, which was funded by the city's soda tax.

• Kenney's initiative promises reinvestments in the city's parks, recreation centers and libraries.

Between the lines: Rebuild was passed into law with the expectation that a larger portion of contractors would be owned by people of color or women.

• So far this year, 68% of Rebuild contract money is going to those firms, exceeding that goal.

Read more of Taylor's deep dive into the program for PlanPhilly.