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Atlanta routinely makes the “best cities” lists — best places for creatives, best places to start a business, cities with the most Fortune 500 company headquarters, and, most recently, it topped Money magazine’s annual “Best Places to Live” ranking.

But Atlanta also finds itself at the top of a far less vaunted list: It ranked first for income equality among large cities, according to the latest U.S. Census data, with experts pointing to deep-rooted racial disparities in a city that is nearly 50% Black.

The innovation for which the city is celebrated has not reaped benefits for all of its citizens, but that can change. In fact, innovative data tools and partners that connect Black families and entrepreneurs to the digital economy could go a long way in creating a more inclusive and equitable city.

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Atlanta’s deputy chief equity officer La’Shawn Brown Dudley and Salah Goss and Arturo Franco, both with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, on how harnessing data with inclusion in mind can help leaders make smarter decision and use their resources more effectively.

Dudley was part of the inaugural cohort of Data for Equity, a 10-week program that brought together equity, technology and data officers from around the country to learn new ways to use the power of data to advance economic inclusion. Launched by the Centre for Public Impact and the Center for Inclusive Growth, the program is part of Mastercard’s $500 million In Solidarity initiative to narrow the racial opportunity gap, with a focus on Atlanta and six other American cities.

In Atlanta, that work includes a $950,000 grant to the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs to support RICE’s Big IDEAS curriculum, including education, technical and financial assistance, and support of Operation HOPE’s 1 Million Black Businesses initiative, to create and grow Black-owned businesses through financial wellness education, small business coaching and help accessing capital.

“In the end, I'm hoping that one day digital assets will actually become boring. And that's actually one of my aspirational goals.” Of all the virtual ink spilled on the crypto economy, particularly in recent weeks, no one is accusing it of being boring. But that’s what Linda Jeng, the chief global regulatory officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation, believes could happen if new regulations are eventually written to make digital currencies safer.In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” the Mastercard podcast that explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman discusses digital currency regulation and crypto innovation. Her guests for this episode are Jeng, whose organization encourages responsible crypto regulation, and Jesse McWaters, Mastercard’s head of regulatory advocacy.

How a city looks is often different than how it functions, with even the most diverse and cosmopolitan urban centers struggling to bring the growth and extend the benefits of the digital economy to all of its citizens.

On the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Miguel Gamiño Jr., head of Global Cities and City Possible at Mastercard, discusses how his career in information and technology has spanned the continent and why a city only works if it works for everyone. But don't jus think of them as 'smart cities.'

Before COVID-19, he says, “the digitization of public services and advancement of these quote-unquote smart cities concepts were a ‘nice to have.’ COVID all of a sudden made that a health concern, sometimes a life safety concern … All of sudden, resources can get reprioritized when you’re talking about those kinds of consequences of not acting.”