Making Progress Towards Park Equity

“Successful parks are markers of healthy communities: children play; families spend time together; people of all ages exercise and relax; and the environment adds to the beauty, security, and economic value of the neighborhood. On the other hand, neglected, dangerous, poorly maintained, or badly designed parks and recreation facilities have the opposite effect: families and young children stay away, illicit activities proliferate, and the property becomes a threatening or discouraging eyesore. To remain community assets, parks and recreation facilities need adequate budgets, good management, and a strong connection with residents.”

Since PolicyLink wrote those words in 2006, parks equity has become more widely understood as a core component of good city-building policies and practices. During 2019 Infrastructure Week, we should celebrate that awareness but double down on our commitment to achieve more tangible results. The case for community parks and trails as drivers of economic growth and rising property values has been repeatedly and effectively made and signature projects such as the Atlanta Beltline and the New York High Line have shown how places can be revitalized through the smart activation of green space. But with the growth bonuses from parks have come sharp questions about who gets to live near them and enjoy their benefits, as gentrification and displacement concerns have become more urgent in many cities. The essential role of parks in creating conditions that advance health and well-being has similarly been well documented.  Children, youth, and adults of all ages need easy access to places to exercise, play, gather as a community and seek respite from the stress of daily life. Here too, though the equity challenges remain, as parks not favored by wealthy donors are often chronically underfunded, which undercuts operations and maintenance as well as acquisitions.

Progress towards parks equity can be found in the arena of public policies, as local governments have explored new models for financing, from new twists on familiar taxes, bonds and fees, to new guidance for conservancies and public-private partnerships, to more innovative methods for capturing the value of adjacent development or establishing land trusts. Each of these mechanisms can be assessed with respect to who bears the financial burden, who benefits, and who makes the decisions. Cities should adopt the more equitable paths to new funding and allocation of resources, and states and the federal government should encourage and incentivize the right choices with their bond and grant program. [The Urban Institute is exploring strategies for investing in equitable parks for City Parks Alliance, and a report will be released later in 2019].

The most exciting frontier for parks equity might be at the level of individual projects where local organizations have built or revitalized parks in low-income communities by incorporating arts and cultural strategies into their approach. For example, Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, is a place of powerful cultural and spiritual resilience. The Zuni nation has survived hundreds of years of systematic oppression and disempowerment while maintaining cultural and linguistic integrity. In the past few years, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP) has worked with partners to offer youth programs that emphasize the importance of Zuni language acquisition, traditional agriculture practices, Pueblo art forms, traditional songs and dances, culturally significant sites, oral storytelling, and connection to the elders. These culturally enriching activities are designed to promote physical activity, improve nutrition, and provide a safe space where Zuni youth can connect to positive role models. Recently, ZYEP used philanthropic resources from ArtPlace America to build a new park and community center. They were advised by a committee of six Zuni artists who were partners through every phase of the park’s development. The artists acted as mediators, organizers (introducing staff to new community partners), designers who worked with the architects, and even builders who constructed parts of the park. Because of the artists’ cultural and creative lens, the park has wrapped the resilience of Zuni cultural traditions around present and future Zuni generations.

In Philadelphia, the Fairmount Park Conservancy believes that parks have the potential to serve as the city’s great connector and equalizer, and as catalysts for positive change. As a champion for the city’s public parks and recreation system, the organization’s mission and work has evolved beyond fundraising to becoming a collaborative leader and partner, focusing more strategically on planning, project management, program development, and community engagement. FPC used support from ArtPlace to utilize the arts to strengthen the organization’s mission and values. By forging new partnerships with artists and cultural producers, they worked with residents of the Strawberry Mansion area to illustrate their neighborhood history and opened up a previously unfamiliar historic house as a welcoming center for community performances and exhibits. The Conservancy became better equipped to tap into critical community voices to ensure that current and future planning and decision-making processes for new park investments are truly collaborative.

These stories from Zuni and Philadelphia are featured in the December 2018 issue of Parks and Recreation, the National Recreation and Park Association magazine.

Green Infrastructure Investment Without Displacement: Upcoming Webinar

Green infrastructure projects have the potential to bring needed benefits to low-income communities – greener and healthier environments, better infrastructure to withstand extreme climate events, local jobs in the growing sustainability sector, and more. But too often, low-income people and people of color living in these places face increased displacement pressure once these investments come to their communities. Green gentrification can seem like an inevitable outcome of investing in urban forests, parks, bioswales, and clean rivers in places that have faced decades of disinvestment and racist policies and practices. But it doesn’t have to be, if policymakers and green infrastructure practitioners proactively take steps to prevent displacement.

Join us tomorrow for a webinar by the Urban Waters Learning Network on addressing gentrification and displacement in green infrastructure projects. PolicyLink Senior Associate Chris Schildt will present on the drivers of displacement and what advocates for green infrastructure can do to promote investment without displacement.

Understanding Gentrification and Displacement: The Path to Equitable Development
Wednesday, May 15
9:00am – 10:30am PT / 12noon – 1:30pm ET

The first in a series hosted by the Urban Waters Learning Network, this webinar aims to frame the topics of gentrification and displacement as well as provide an example of the types of multi-sector partnerships that urban waters practitioners can create to ease displacement pressures. Presenters Paulina Lopez and Robin Schwartz from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (Seattle, WA) will kick things off by sharing why this is an issue of concern that they are paying increasing attention to as a river-focused organization. Chris Schildt from PolicyLink will then address the following questions:

  • What are the drivers behind displacement?
  • What do gentrification and displacement look like? How are they different? How are they related?
  • Are gentrification and displacement of people always the outcome of significant development in disinvested neighborhoods?
  • What are some policies and/or practices that can be enabled to ease displacement pressures?

Exploring these topics further, Tony Defalco from Verde will share information about a multi-sector partnership called Living Cully. In the Cully neighborhood of Portland, Living Cully partners strive to balance environmental investments, equitable development and anti-displacement goals.

This webinar is part of a series hosted by the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN), a partnership between Groundwork USA & River Network funded by the US EPA Office of Water. This year, UWLN is digging deeper into a topic that has long been a concern of its members: the gentrification and displacement of people taking place in our urban communities, oftentimes following efforts to revitalize and reinvest in the places we call home. UWLN will be addressing this topic in the coming months through this webinar series, blog posts, impact stories, and other resources.

Presenters:

Learn more and register today!

National Infrastructure Week – Five Recommendations to Create Equitable Infrastructure Investments

At PolicyLink, we know that smart, targeted, equitable investments in infrastructure can have a transformative impact on low-income communities and communities of color. That’s why we are excited to join infrastructure advocates throughout the nation, for National Infrastructure Week—a time to collectively garner more public awareness and advocacy to support increased investments in infrastructure.

This week we will be posting a new blog each weekday exploring infrastructure equity. We encourage you to share our blog posts with your network and follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #Build4Equity and  #BuildForTomorrow -- the official infrastruture week hashtag.

Five Recommendations to Create Equitable Infrastructure Investments

Infrastructure can provide transformative benefits to communities, but the story of infrastructure in the United States has often been devastating for Indigenous people, people of color, and low-income communities. From the transcontinental railroads that destroyed native lives and accelerated European occupation, to the demolition of entire communities in the mid-20th century spurred by urban renewal and freeway expansion, to the ongoing pattern of locating pollution generating infrastructure and industry in neighborhoods that are home to low-income people and people of color, to the persistent lack of investment that has left millions of people in urban and rural communities without safe drinking water, sidewalks, parks, or other critical infrastructure—for too many people, infrastructure has been an oppressive force. A way to consolidate wealth and power for some while reinforcing racial and economic exclusion.

Today, we have an opportunity to change this. Our infrastructure is in serious need of attention. Growing populations, resource-intensive development patterns, new technology requirements of a rapidly changing economy, and several decades of underinvestment have combined to create a huge backlog of infrastructure projects all over the country—in urban, suburban, and rural areas. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, we have to spend an additional $500 billion a year between now and 2040 in order to close our infrastructure gap. This backlog combined with the clear evidence that our existing infrastructure is not serving the communities who will soon constitute the majority, and the growing impacts of climate change, creates an opportunity for us to step out of our past and radically reimagine how we plan for, build, and maintain our infrastructure systems.

Here are five recommendations that can set us in the right direction:

  • Serve underinvested communities without pushing out existing residents. Rectifying decades of disinvestment in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods is critical, but making these investments without protecting residents from displacement will only exacerbate harm. The benefits of infrastructure investments should be targeted to those with the greatest need and should be combined with strategies to ensure that residents can stay in their communities.

  • Improve the environmental health and quality of life for residents of disinvested places. Climate change demands transformation in every aspect of our lives. As we tackle the next generation of infrastructure that will allow us to both slowdown climate change and prepare for its impacts, we have an opportunity to substantially improve the health and quality of life for residents of disinvested places. From electrification of our goods movement infrastructure, to redesigning our neighborhoods for multi-modal mobility, our transition to clean energy can provide a host of co-benefits to communities.

  • Be equitably owned, financed, and funded. How infrastructure projects are owned, financed, and funded, affects whether they advance or impede equity. Ownership and financing should be structured to put greater power in low-income communities and communities of color and should ensure that project benefits actually make it to them.

  • Create good jobs and business opportunities for local residents. While infrastructure investments can facilitate a host of physical improvements in a community, they can also provide workforce development opportunities, jobs, and new business opportunities. Making sure that these economic benefits are accessible to a broad cross section of local residents, including individuals with barriers to employment, will ensure that our infrastructure investments contribute to a future of shared prosperity.

  • Include residents in decision-making at every step. Achieving equity requires shared decision-making that is rooted in transparency and a commitment to changing inequitable policies and practices. Bringing communities into all stages of infrastructure planning and implementation allows for community knowledge and priorities to shape decisions and ultimately leads to better projects and outcomes.

Over the next four days we will explore these recommendations further and will join our partners from around the country to reimagine infrastructure so that we can #Build4Equity and #BuildForTomorrow.

How companies can advance racial equity and create business growth

As businesses across the nation vie to increase revenue and market share, they are seeking not only to retain customers but also to continually expand into new markets. Much has been written about the demographic change engulfing the American market: by 2040, a majority of people in the U.S. will be of color; indeed, a majority of young people in the country are already of color. 

However, a majority of people of color in the United States suffer worse socio-economic outcomes in most aspects of their lives—health, education, career, access to financial services, or experiences with the criminal justice system—than their White counterparts. If status quo remains, and a majority of corporate stakeholders such as customers, employees, and suppliers continue to experience racial inequities, then businesses will suffer from a less productive workforce, missed market segments and fewer suppliers from which to choose.

With these realities in mind, in 2017, PolicyLink and FSG wrote a report called The Competitive Advantage of Racial Equity.  The research in the report highlights examples of companies that have gained competitive advantage by advancing racial equity. We found that by ignoring the nation’s changing demographics, companies may find their growth curtailed and their global competitiveness undermined. Our research led us to explore specific steps business leaders can take to future-proof their businesses by addressing these inequities. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, FSG and PolicyLink examined two industries where racial inequities are most severe—health care and financial services—to explore how companies in these sectors are advancing racial equity in ways that create business value.

Although these industries are vastly different, our research found 5 action-steps and 3 internal catalysts that are applicable to any industry and that must be adopted by business leaders who want to remain competitive. Here, we share examples from our research on the healthcare and financial services sectors in addition to highlighting opportunities for companies in other sectors. As the business world begins to adopt a racial equity point of view we are inspired by bold innovations that are emerging across sectors and markets.

Companies must offer products or services that effectively meet the distinctive needs of markets of color. To enable that, companies need to:  

  1. Authentically understand the needs of markets of color. Markets of color may not always have the same needs as majority-White markets. Yet, the data on needs or consumer behavior for people of color are not always readily available. Companies can conduct in-house research on these markets or seek help from unconventional sources outside the for-profit world. For example, Prudential Financial, a Fortune 500 company that provides financial products and services including retirement-related investments, commissioned research with UnidosUS, a non-profit that deeply understands and serves the Hispanic communities, and captured behavioral insights on the community’s usage of retirement services. This information served as critical input to Prudential’s business units that aim to expand its retirement service offerings.
     
  2. Get to the root cause. America’s history of slavery and ongoing structural racism has led to lower incomes, lower levels of wealth, and poorer health outcomes among people of color compared to their White counterparts. Recognizing and understanding this fact is essential to ensure that companies don’t mistakenly attribute inequities to individual behavior. It is also essential to spark business innovation and avoid unintended negative consequences. Let us take for example the impact of structural racism on access to transportation.  is significant evidence that America’s transportation system has historically bypassed communities of color. In our research, we found that Kaiser Permanente, an integrated health care provider, teamed up with a car-sharing service to bring members to their appointments when they could not afford the cost of transportation to their diabetes management appointments.

The same phenomenon of differential access to transportation could also affect companies in other industries. For example, in 2016, an analysis by Bloomberg found that in some of the largest cities where Amazon’s same day delivery service is available, it bypasses ZIP codes that are predominantly Black. Amazon uses many factors to determine which ZIP codes are ripe for its same day service, including the distance to the nearest fulfillment center, local demand in an area, as well as the ability of various carrier partners to deliver up to 9:00 pm every single day. The underlying algorithm, however, perhaps did not consider how communities of color historically lack equal access to transportation, and inadvertently, Amazon denied those ZIP codes same-day service. Since the publication of the Bloomberg report, Amazon made a decision to expand the coverage. Regardless, the unintended negative consequence of being race-blind is that it limits access for these communities, and potential profits for Amazon’s business, since these neighborhoods often lack access to groceries and other retail stores, which could be a potential source of revenue for the company.

  1. (Re)design products and services to meet discrete needs. People of color suffer from the effects of structural racism, starting with their level of wealth or access to healthy foods. Providing differentiated products and services to solve for these discrete needs can help to address these inequities and enable companies to enter new markets. ShopRite operator Brown’s Super Stores, found a profitable market expansion opportunity by establishing grocery stores to reach lower-income people of color in Philadelphia-area food deserts. The company offered customized food items and expanded its offerings to include complementary services that were lacking, such as health clinics. The company’s 7 stores generate strong profits on $250 million in revenues and serve 250,000 people.

Companies should work to reverse the effects of structural racism by strengthening the external business context – thus enabling their future growth. To do that, companies must undertake the following steps:

  1. Address public policy failures: While some federal policies improve conditions for people of color, others affect people of color negatively and constrain business growth. Prudential’s research with UnidosUS, described above, found that state regulations discourage small businesses from offering retirement savings plans to their employees, limiting those employees from participating in Prudential’s pension investment services. This disproportionately affects communities of color because a majority of employees of color work for small businesses. Prudential used its lobbying arm to work with coalitions that expanded retirement savings to employees of small businesses, thus opening up its access to an expanded pool of assets for management.
     
  2. (Re)build trust and shift norms: Due to historical and modern-day discrimination against Black and Latinx communities, many communities of color are less trusting of businesses – this is particularly true of banks and health care institutions. For banks, this can be costly, as it may limit the size of their total addressable market and for health care institutions, it may mean patients of color are less likely to seek treatment or participate it important R&D, further exacerbating inequities. Companies need to understand, acknowledge, and rebuild relationships and trust with communities of color in order to serve these communities. Racialized norms in society can also cause unintended consequences; shifting those norms requires intentionality. In 2016, the hashtag #AirBnBWhileBlack became popular when a study found that Black guests face higher rates of rejection than White guests.  Since then, a team representing executives from every Airbnb department conducted a comprehensive examination of how Airbnb has fought discrimination in the past, where these efforts fell short, and how they can be improved in the future. Beginning November 1, 2016, AirBnB made a decision that everyone who uses Airbnb around the world will be asked to affirmatively agree to uphold a commitment to treat fellow members equally regardless of race, gender identity, and national origin before they book a listing or share their space on the Airbnb platform – a small, but important step in shifting norms around racist behavior. 

Companies must also ensure that internal organizational conditions support this this work. Essential factors include:

  1. Strong diversity and inclusion practices: Most companies are spending increasing resources on diversity and inclusion today. CEOs have come together to publicly state their commitment to this work. Starbucks recently enlisted the advice and counsel of social scientists, researchers and other experts in designing the training curriculum for its employees. Yet, we see time and again, advertisements that are racist or culturally inappropriate or products and services that are discriminatory or exclusionary towards a gender or race. Perhaps if all core business units such as product development, marketing and sales teams have diverse employees who understand equity and cultural humility, and employees feel comfortable raising concerns, mistakes could be avoided. Having a diverse staff is itself an essential goal: Our research shows that having a diverse workforce that mirrors the customer base is critical to unlock the business opportunities associated with advancing racial equity.
     
  2. Leadership support, structure, and accountability to embed racial equity in the business: In most companies, diversity and inclusion efforts are entirely separate from the business units responsible for market expansion or ensuring the quality of service. However, some companies are bringing skilled expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion into their operations. When AirBnB found that there were too many instances of people being discriminated against on the Airbnb platform because of race, the company decided to assemble a permanent, full-time product team of engineers, data scientists, researchers, and designers whose sole purpose is to advance belonging and inclusion and to root out bias.
     
  3. Establishing mutually beneficial partnerships with organizations led by people of color: While we hope companies will find new opportunities to better understand and authentically serve communities of color in ways that reduce inequities, we know companies can’t do this alone. Leading companies understand the need to partner with experts that work with communities of color. It is important to ensure that these are not token partnerships, but authentic and mutually beneficial for both the business and the local partner. Cigna, a commercial health insurance company collaborated with a local health care system in Memphis, Tennessee, to promote breast cancer screening among its Black customers living in neighborhoods with limited access to screening facilities. Efforts like these contributed to elimination of the breast cancer screening rate gap for Black patients, originally identified in 2012 and 2013 data. This partnership helped reduce unnecessary costs for Cigna and contributed to the goals of the local health care system.

Find all related material for The Corporate Racial Equity Advantage

Contact Us to join companies that are working with FSG and PolicyLink to find new business opportunities by advancing racial equity.

People & Places 2019: Exploring Local Solutions to Advance Community Prosperity & Racial Equity

By Alexis Stephens

PolicyLink is proud to be a co-host of this year's People & Places, happening April 15-17 in Arlington, Virginia. During the convening, more than 100 speakers will be sharing successful strategies that promote equitable development, bolster small businesses, encourage asset growth, remediate blight, make places healthier, weave the arts into community development, and more. As an event co-host, we are highlighting how community development organizations are integrating arts and culture to help them better achieve their goals and how cities are embracing equity as a core operating principle. If you have yet to register or make plans to go to the conference, advance registration ends April 9. If you are already planning on attending, here are the sessions you hope to join us for:

Claiming the Torch: Community Organizations Advancing Racial Equity
Monday April 15, 8:30am-11:30am

"Claiming the Torch" was one of the themes of Equity Summit 2018; to us it means advocates working together to make equity priorities the driving force for our cultural institutions, governments, and communities. Engage in an interactive workshop facilitated by PolicyLink to learn from leaders of community-based organizations who found ways to disrupt mainstream organizational and community development processes to advance racial equity. This workshop will feature new research from PolicyLink on innovative ways to achieve more equitable outcomes such as non-traditional partnerships, organizational shifts, and arts and cultural strategies. Join PolicyLink Senior Fellow Jeremy Liu; Program Associate Lorrie Chang; Chelsea Alger, formerly of Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership; Mallory Nezam, Justice + Joy; Carolyn Johnson, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation; Mallory Nezam, Justice + Joy; Adela Park, Fairmount Park Conservancy; and Michaela Pommells, The Village of Arts and Humanities.

What Does the Future of Banking Hold for Communities of Color?
Monday April 15, 4:15pm-5:45pm

Lessons from the Great Recession and digital innovations have changed the financial services landscape dramatically over the past decade, leading to an experience that is safer and more seamless for consumers. Unfortunately, accessing the right financial tools is still not easy or affordable for low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, especially those of color. What does the future of banking hold for LMI communities? How can we boost their economic potential? And what strategies can we employ today to address their financial challenges and opportunities? Join PolicyLink Director Christopher M. Brown in conversation with John Chin, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation; Christina Corea, Citi Community Development; Emanuel Nieves, Prosperity Now; and Marisabel Torres, UnidosUS.

The Promise and Peril of Opportunity Zones
Tuesday April 16, 10:30am-12:00pm

What can equity groups do to shore up the positive potential of Opportunity Zones to benefit long- term residents and businesses while guarding against the biggest threats of gentrification and displacement? In this session, a panel of national and local experts will discuss new research on the use of financial services within LMI communities and what the public sector, financial institutions and on-the-ground groups can do to ensure that financial services are better serving these communities. Join PolicyLink Director Christopher M. Brown in conversation with Robert Bachmann, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.; and Christopher Coes, Smart Growth America.

Reimagining Community Engagement and Organizing for Impact
Wednesday April 17, 9:00am-10:30am

Innovative community engagement and organizing techniques draw on creative expression to help communities envision what they want for their future and advocate for that vision. Incorporating artistic practices into community organizing is complex, requiring collaboration with artists. This session is designed for community developers who want to use artistic practices to deepen their community engagement and organizing process. Participants will learn how to conceive, structure, and implement relationships with artists to support community engagement and organizing goals. Join PolicyLink Senior Fellow for Arts, Culture and Equitable Development Jeremy Liu for a participatory learning session and conversation with Kier Johnston, Amber Art & Design; Scott Oshima, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center; and Ashley Hanson, PlaceBase Productions.

Strengthening Social and Cultural Fabric as an Innovative Practice for Community Development
Wednesday April 17, 11:00am-12:30pm

The process of change within American cities and towns has not always been supportive or protective of vulnerable communities. The approaches described in this session position social and cultural fabric as the foundation for community development, deepening the root of empowerment while fulfilling critical needs. The session will explore cross-sector partnerships that have developed innovative practices for celebrating and preserving cultural identity as an effective way to advance self-determination and community development. Join PolicyLink Program Associate Lorrie Chang in conversation with Joseph Claunch, Zuni Youth Enrichment Project; Karoleen Feng, Mission Economic Development Agency, and Chelsea Alger, formerly of Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership.

Community Powered Strategies to Fight Displacement: Lessons from the All-In Cities Anti-Displacement Policy Network
Wednesday April 17, 11:00am-12:30pm

In recent years, many cities are experiencing a surge in investments and economic activity. However, too many low-income people, especially people of color, who lived in cities through their long decline face displacement as rents rise and wages stagnate. Such displacement pressures destabilize families, neighborhoods, and entire cities. This session will highlight policies and strategies that local leaders and equity advocates from the All-In Cities Anti-Displacement Policy Network are using to fight displacement and promote equitable development in their communities. Join PolicyLink Associate Director Tracey Ross in conversation with Harper Bishop, PUSH Buffalo; Pamela Phan, Community Alliance of Tenants; Mercedeh Mortazavi, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation; and Nefertitti Jackmon, District Six Square: Austin's Black Cultural District.

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