Provides a framework of principles, describes the work and ideas of key players, and captures the important policy solutions that should be included in the upcoming federal authorization legislation.
From San Francisco, California to Flint, Michigan, the nation is facing an escalating housing crisis. Skyrocketing rents, inadequate infrastructure and stagnant wages are some of the barriers that are preventing millions of low-income Americans and communities of color from reaching their full potential. Healthy Communities of Opportunity: An Equity Blueprint to Address America’s Housing Challenges weaves together insights from the fields of healthcare, housing and economic security to outline a case for progressive, equity-focused policy.
Placing the contemporary housing crisis within the context of American Urban History, this report highlights key movements offering countermeasures to concentrated poverty, racial segregation, economic mobility and substandard housing, including:
Healthy Communities of Opportunity suggests 10 equity housing policy priorities that together provide a strong platform to improve racial equity, health, climate, and economic opportunity outcomes.
The Summit is a call to activists, organizers, and leaders to step into our power, activate our imaginations, and set the national agenda. That agenda will build on what’s been learned about advancing equity and justice and will push us to achieve the scale required for all to reach our full potential.
See program for full agenda. (Last revised 03-21-18)
See program overview in Spanish here.
This study, co-authored by Emerald Cities and PolicyLink, and generously supported by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, surveys the current landscape on inclusive procurement and contracting policies and practices in the infrastructure and construction industries. The goal was to specifically determine how to best position minority-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses (MWDBEs) to effectively compete for large-scale construction projects in these industries. A successful inclusive procurement program of action is key not only to providing jobs, but also to closing the wealth gap needed to secure the well-being and future of children, families, and the regions in which they live.
This report details the rationale for inclusive practices in this industry and includes historical and current equitable development policies and trends. It also identifies challenges and best practices and sets forth recommendations for strengthening the field of practice. The report provides insight into inclusive procurement and contracting policies within the energy, water, transportation, health, education, and public housing sectors. It also considers the field of practice in different geographic regions of the United States. Download executive summary here.
This profile analyzes the state of health equity and inclusive growth in the Sacramento region, and the accompanying policy brief, Health Equity Now: Toward an All-In Sacramento, summarizes the data and presents recommendations to advance health equity and inclusive growth. They were created by PolicyLink and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) in partnership with the Healthy Sacramento Coalition, whose broader vision is to eliminate health inequities in Sacramento. This equity analysis was developed with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Read the profile and policy brief.
Media: Sick Stats: New Report Says Lack of Action on Community Health is Costing Sacramento (NewsReview.com)
A partnership in which residents collectively own and control their housing.
Oakland, California, faces a serious shortage of affordable housing. Commissioned by the Oakland City Council, A Roadmap Toward Equity analyzes the depth of the problem and presents more than a dozen policy solutions for preventing displacement, increasing the stock of affordable housing, and improving housing habitability for all Oakland residents.
A thriving, inclusive economy depends on the success and growth of small businesses. Nearly half of all workers are employed at a small business; and businesses owned by women and people of color have created 1.3 million new jobs between 2007 and 2012. This brief looks at small businesses and the barriers they face in providing good jobs obstacles, as well as key strategies being implemented by various actors in the business development ecosystem—technical assistance providers, small-business lenders and investors, economic development agencies, business associations, and workforce and labor partners—to help small businesses get on the road to good jobs.
The Competitive Advantage of Racial Equity, and the accompanying op-ed in Fortune, both produced in partnership with FSG. It is our aspiration that these business strategies will complement the push, from outside and inside corporations, for more fair and equitable operations.
The report goes beyond the essential ingredient of workforce diversity, as a means for business to address past and continuing discrimination while improving their competitiveness, to challenge the corporate sector to affirmatively advance racial equity through its products, services, and public policy positions.
Find all related material for The Corporate Racial Equity Advantage