| For Immediate Release
November 12, 2002 |
Contacts: |
Heather Bent Tamir |
| Milly Hawk Daniel
212-629-9570 ext. 204 mdaniel@poilcylink.org |
||
Ray Colmenar
|
Sponsored by PolicyLink and the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Promoting Regional Equity: A National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth will take place November 17 to 19, 2002 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles . The Summit is uniting the interests of a broad cross-section of constituencies-from foundation executives and community development corporations to faith-based initiatives and environmental justice and smart growth advocates-concerned about creating healthy vibrant regions that provide opportunity for all, including residents in low-income communities of color.
"By tapping the resources and political will of the entire region, problems confronting residents of low-income communities can be solved, and the region can become stronger and more viable," said Angela Glover Blackwell, president of PolicyLink. "But achieving regional equity requires the support of the public and private sectors working together."
Case studies from Portland , Boston , and Atlanta are among the subjects of workshops offering strategies to:
Connect central city residents to regional employment opportunities and improve the quality, distribution, and supply of affordable housing;
Develop equitable approaches to transportation-the cornerstone for opportunity within regions-that leverage transit investments to build strong neighborhoods;
Improve health outcomes in low-income communities of color by increasing opportunities for physical activity through community revitalization, urban design, and land use planning;
Ensure that public and private investments contribute to equitable outcomes.
Confirmed speakers include:
Henry Cisneros , President and CEO, American CityVista
john a. powell , Director, Institute on Race and Poverty, University of Minnesota
Maria Elena Durazo , President, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union , (HERE) Local 11, AFL-CIO, and Vice President, HERE International Union
Hattie Dorsey , President and CEO, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
Steve Kest , Executive Director, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Amy Liu , Managing Director, Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Brookings Institution
Anthony Thigpenn , Executive Director, Strategic Concepts in Organizing Policy Education, and Chair of Action for Grassroots Empowerment and Neighborhood Development Alternatives
Myron Orfield , Minnesota State Senator and President, Ameregis
"Using smart growth principles to promote equity," said Benjamin Starrett, executive director of the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, "opens up a new universe of possibilities for addressing the needs of low-income communities of color. This summit provides a forum for making those connections."
PolicyLink, with offices in Oakland , California , and New York , New York , is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing policies to achieve economic and social equity based on the wisdom, voice, and experience of local constituencies. www.policylink.org
The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, based in Miami , Florida , is an active resource and focal point for foundations, nonprofit organizations, and other partners working to solve the environmental, social, and economic problems created by suburban sprawl and urban disinvestment. www.fundersnetwork.org