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
Smart growth practitioners seeking to advance equity in and through our work experience tremendous, often overwhelming, stressors and challenges on a daily basis that can lead to exhaustion and burnout. This workshop aims to help people engaged in equity and justice work become more attuned with how such stress may be showing up in our … Continued
To provide a practical response to the information presented in Dangerous By Design, a Smart Growth America report that identifies unsafe road design as the main culprit in rising pedestrian deaths, this panel will explore a unique partnership between WABA, Howard University, and local high school students to address traffic violence before it happens through … Continued
Learn from cultural organizing groups from community-based organizations across the country working to preserve commercial corridors and community centers through arts and culture outside of historic urban ethnic enclaves. BIPOC/immigrant community members will find effective cultural community organizing strategies to build power and renegotiate exclusionary, top-down, community planning processes. Panelists will also discuss national initiatives … Continued
Structural racism in land use, infrastructure, and lending policies have physically divided and damaged communities of color and denied generations opportunities for wealth-building. Frontline community and advocacy organizations, frequently led by people of color, have fought these discriminatory practices and policies as well as their de facto effects for years, often with little support from … Continued
Efforts to advance equity in today’s environment face major structural setbacks, including the recent Supreme Court decision overturning affirmative action and reduced corporate commitment to DEI. Panelists representing a range of fields, including transportation, housing, and the civic sector, will reflect on how they are continuing to center equity in the face of these challenges. … Continued
The Equity Summit is more than a conference. It’s a time to connect movement leaders, identify key needs within the field, and build a community of mutual support and encouragement among practitioners who may be discouraged by resistance to meaningful progress. Here’s what you can expect. Over the course of our two-day program, participants will … Continued
Our new webinar series brings together advocates and implementers to discuss how to advance Complete Streets in their communities. At our first Power Hour, we spoke with two implementers and one advocate from Minnesota about how they’ve gone about establishing a north star for Complete Streets in the North Star State. As it turns out, it’s all about the process.
Last month, Smart Growth America hosted our third annual Equity Summit. The three days of virtual programming held space for thought leaders and practitioners in the planning space to gather and ensure that racial equity is a key priority in any smart growth approach. Each of the three days was concentrated on a specific smart … Continued
Our Equity Forum: Upending Cultural Displacement featured key thought leaders and practitioners who discussed the complex relationship between smart growth and cultural displacement, as well as shared innovative strategies for preserving and protecting neighborhood culture during change. Communities across the country are experiencing significant changes driven by reinvestment, disinvestment, rising housing costs, and the changing … Continued