Facing Race: A National Conference 2007
Across the U.S., luxury developments are forcing people of color from their
homes and communities, robbing them of affordable housing, good jobs, and good
schools, while their communities remain the popular dumping grounds for other
people’s garbage. At the same time, a perceived environment of scarcity often
pits native-born residents against immigrants, despite their shared agendas,
resulting in the exclusion of Blacks and exploitation of immigrants in labor
markets. From rural South Carolina to New York City to post-Katrina New Orleans,
community-based planning can be an effective tool for organizers and advocates
to fight displacement and environmental racism and ensure that growth promotes
racial equity for both rural and urban communities, as well as build consensus
among diverse community members.
Public policies and planning must be race-conscious in order to sustain
growth with equity because:
- Policies, which are supposedly neutral across all groups, actually
discriminate against vulnerable groups (women, the disabled, or people of
color).
- Policymakers concerned with poverty should aim for sustained high growth,
but with the poor capturing a proportionately larger share.
- Anti-poverty strategies must be targeted to reach poor people of
color who are otherwise systemically excluded from access to opportunities.
Building Blocks: Community Planning for Racial Justice
March 23, 2007 Workshop
Representative Joseph H. Neal, a community advocate and eight-term South
Carolina state representative, described the challenges and opportunities his
community faces as a land rich but economically poor rural Black community,
located just outside the capital city of Columbia, S.C.
Colette Pichon Battle, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, and Executive
Director of Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc., spoke about the struggle for
communities of color to be heard in the planning processes for rebuilding New
Orleans, given that a majority of former residents have not been able to return.
Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc., is a Louisiana-based non-profit that provided
disaster assistance, community development programs and community advocacy
training in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
Jason Corburn, Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University, described
community-led planning in the San Francisco Bay Area, where groups are framing
land use issues and evaluating policies through the lens of community health and
individual health.
Resources:
I Love NY: Communities of Color and the Future of New York
March 24, 2007 Workshop
For the framing of the workshop discussion, please see CSI’s PowerPoint
presentation, Communities of Color
and the Future of NY.
Alison Cordero, Deputy Director for Community Preservation, St. Nicholas
Neighborhood Preservation Corporation, Brooklyn, NY discussed the community
organizing behind the 2004 Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezonings and its related
inclusionary zoning program to build affordable housing.
Eve Baron, Director, the Planning Center, Municipal Art Society of New York,
discussed its Campaign for Community-Based Planning and important questions
about the future and direction of community-based planning in relation to
regional development and planning and organizing around shared interests.
Resources:
CSI Home
|
