Amazon’s list of 20 finalists for its second headquarters is here. Now it’s time to cut it.

Narrowing the list of 20 city-finalists for Amazon’s second headquarters — HQ2 — should not be based on which one will give Jeff Bezos, now the richest person on earth, and his company, one of the most valuable in the world, the greatest financial return. The tax breaks offered by the bidding cities and states will assure that Amazon will have the economic and business conditions to thrive.

Whether or not Amazon can bring value to a city is really predicated on how much it contributes to and accelerates that place’s inclusivity — defined as how growth is distributed among different types of individuals. Bezos has an opportunity to provide a vision for an America that citizens and residents desperately need in this moment of political unrest, racial division, and global discord. Put simply, Bezos can bring disparate people together through work. Building off the strength that American cities’ diversity offer will give Bezos the moonshot and landing he sought through the competition. And if he is to build from the current diversity that the list* of 20 finalist cities has to offer, and indicate a serious focus on advancing inclusion, the list should be further winnowed down to these five cities (in no particular order):

Austin, TX
Raleigh, NC
Los Angeles, CA
Nashville, TN
Denver, CO

Read the full article about factoring inclusion into Amazon's list of HQ2 cities by Andre M. Perry and Martha Ross at Brookings.