Catherwood LibraryILR School

InnerCity Weightlifting in Boston is example of a gym that does more than provide exercise machines; it's an example of an entity whose founding mission was to create social mobility bridges between people at opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum. It provides employment to the poor and often ex-incarcerated and gives them the opportunity to interact and forge friendships with wealthy clients. This gives the economically disadvantaged networking opportunities, to prove the truism that it's who you know who may help you reach better opportunities. Two recent studies in Nature show that this helps the disadvantaged achieve upward mobility. The studies used data from 70 million Facebook users with 81 billion friendships to make observations about social relationships across America, which is that places that have more bridges between lower income and higher income people are places where the disadvantaged are more likely to climb the economic ladder. The studies began as a research project years ago that used IRS tax records to create a map of zip codes where children were most likely to exit the poverty level - also known as the "Opportunity Atlas". The study then began researching the reasons why some communities were better off, and social capital - who you're friends with- was speculated to be a factor.