Right now there are almost eight parking spaces per person in America amounting to almost two billion parking spaces, yet there is a housing shortage of almost two million housing units. How did we get here?
From reduced opportunities to travel by bike or foot to a lack of parks and green spaces, our built environment actively contributes to the state of our physical and mental well-being, and nowhere is its negative impact felt more than in Black and Brown communities.
On Sunday, August 18, and Saturday, August 31, Atlanta artists Emma Chammah and Eddie Farr will host interactive workshops exploring the need for an improved public transportation network in Atlanta. During the free workshops, all are invited to engage with the artists’ project, Traffic Cams, which creates a real-time augmented reality experience to show what Atlanta could look like with expanded transportation options. The project is supported by Smart Growth America’s Healing Our Highways grant program.
Healing Our Highways is a grant program led by Smart Growth America’s Arts and Culture team providing funding and technical assistance for arts and culture projects that confront the harms perpetuated through our transportation system on marginalized communities of color. On May 15, 2024, a cozy Filipino restaurant in a suburban Atlanta Asian shopping plaza was filled with energy, connection, and delicious food as the Healing Our Highways cohort of artists and cultural workers deliberated on strategies for community organizing, building power, and making change.
After many decades of being divided by highways, community members in National City, CA are building capacity to reconnect their community in a project that will also acknowledge their community’s heritage and future.
Smart Growth America is excited to announce the recipients of the Healing Our Highways grant program. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation, Healing Our Highways will support creative ideas and activities that build knowledge, connection, and power within disadvantaged communities harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Beginning … Continued
In Austin, hundreds of families will lose child care if a preschool is demolished to expand an interstate. In Houston, a young Black woman will lose her brand-new home to a new lane on Interstate 10-just blocks away from where a seventy-four-year-old nurse lost her home in the 1960s when that same highway was built. … Continued
Our staff has been working around the clock to prepare for the 2024 Equity Summit: Meeting the Moment, which is only seven days away! As we gear up for the event, we took a moment to reflect on why it matters to us and what will make this year’s Summit particularly special.
Day 1 | 4:00-4:55 p.m. At the Equity Summit, we’ve invited partner organizations to lead workshop sessions to examine real-world equity implications in planning. Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, CityFi, and Center for Creative Land Recycling for engaging and interactive discussions to move what we hear at the Summit into practice. Check out the … Continued
Divisive infrastructure has had long-term damage, both tangible and intangible, on Black and Brown communities. While we are beginning to see policies, programs, and funding to combat the destructive legacies of past decision-making, work remains and barriers to finding solutions exist. This panel will discuss how street design, community engagement, and a holistic approach to … Continued