NPSG13-202

Innovative Municipal approaches to Equitable Reinvestment and Revitalization

Speakers: Jeff Hebert, Executive Director, New Orleans Redevelopment Authority; Michael Braverman, JD, Deputy Commissioner, Housing Authority of Baltimore City, MD. Moderator: Nicole Heyman, JD, LLM, Vice President and Director of New Orleans Vacant Properties Initiative, Center for Community Progress.

Code enforcement, nuisance abatement and the legal systems they work within directly impact the quality of life, reinvestment opportunities and long-term sustainability and affordability of neighborhoods. At its core, the goal of a code enforcement program is to encourage responsible property ownership. Code enforcement is property regulatory system and that helps prevent vacancy, abandonment and disinvestment. As communities seek to protect neighborhoods and individuals from the negative impacts of substandard or vacant properties and negligent landowners and landlords – problems often disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income residents – it’s more important than ever to create strategic approaches and partnerships to achieve positive and equitable outcomes. This interactive discussion among some of the country’s most thoughtful and innovative problem-solvers explores how code enforcement departments, the courts and redevelopment authorities are working together to hold negligent property owners accountable, eliminate blight, and drive development opportunities in disinvested neighborhoods.

Audio CDs: 1

Audio CD

$15.00

$15.00

NPSG13-308

Closed School, Old School, New School: Repurposing, Siting, and Valuing Schools

2 hour session.

MP3

$20.00

$20.00

NPSG13-301

Scenario Planning: A Tool for all Scales

2 hour session.

MP3

$20.00

$20.00

NPSG13-250

Getting to Complete Streets the Grassroots Way

2 hour session.

MP3

$15.00

$15.00

NPSG13-222

Changing Course after Decades of Sprawl: How Fresno is Making the Turn Toward Smart Growth

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-153

Good Food for All: The Role of Equity in Strengthening Communities

Speakers: Ricardo Salvador, Senior Scientist and Director of the Food and Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; Haile Johnston, Director, Common Market Philadelphia; Malik Kenyetta Yakini, Executive Director, Detroit Black Community Food and Security Network; Kolu Zigbi, Program Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Moderator: Linda Jo Doctor, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

(2 hour session) A “good food” system is rooted in strengthening communities. Using innovative approaches to community engagement, infrastructure change, and policy making, local leaders are placing equity at the heart of their work to transform food systems and build stronger communities. This session features representatives from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food & Community program discussing how they’re creating vibrant communities by ensuring the “good food” movement addresses racial and economic inequities. Topics include Common Market’s new model for connecting local food to institutional customers in Philadelphia, the Detroit Black Community Food and Security Network’s approach to engaging communities of color in transforming their food environments, and the Union of Concerned Scientists’ approach to engaging often-excluded communities in national policymaking.

MP3

$20.00

$20.00

NPSG13-103

Equity as the New Model for Growth: How Three Regions are Innovating

Speakers: Ramon Leon, Executive Director, Latino Economic Development Corporation; Allen Fernandez Smith, President & CEO, Urban Habitat; Pamela Hurtt, Senior Consultant, New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan

Tomorrow’s successful regions will be those that adopt equity-driven growth strategies, creating greater opportunities for residents left behind after the past few decades of unequal growth. Doing so means squarely addressing race: in many metros, the majority of residents are people of color, yet Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans and other racial/ethnic groups continue to face stark barriers to economic participation and success. A handful of regions are taking bold steps to integrate equity into their economic development pursuits. This session highlights three of them: Detroit’s New Economy Initiative, which is implanting inclusion strategies into its small business accelerators focused on high-tech companies, anchor institutions, and neighborhood-serving businesses; the Twin Cities’ “Everybody In” effort to reduce the region’s high racial disparities in employment; and the Bay Area’s sustainable communities strategy to connect the region’s low-income communities and communities of color to its high-growth industries.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-117

Are States Losing Ground? Solutions from Heartland Communities for a New Generation

Speakers: Andre LeRoux, Executive Director, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance; Bridget Jones, Executive Director, Cumberland Regional Tomorrow; Charles Pattison, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Florida; Senator Marci Francisco, Kansas State Senate, District 2. Moderator: Julia Seward, Principal, Julia W. Seward Consulting

Mired in stagnant budgets and escalating politics, are states a growing battle ground for sustainability policies? Or do they remain a center of innovation and practical solutions? Hear a panel of recognized advocacy leaders as they explore current political dynamics, strategies that are working, and critical future game plans. This session focuses on the lessons from several key state policy losses, strategies that are achieving results with limited budget impact, and trends that are key to future state sustainability policies across the country. Following opening presentations, panelists open a conversation about what is happening at the state policy level, implications for smart-growth practitioners everywhere, and how we grow an new generation of smart-growth state advocacy.

Audio CDs: 1

Audio CD

$15.00

$15.00

NPSG13-160

Kick-Off Plenary — The Arrival of the 21st Century American City

Speakers: Jake Mackenzie, Councilmember, City of Rohnert Park, CA; Local Government Commission Board Member; Mark Hague, Deputy Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA, Region 7; Sly James, Mayor, City of Kansas City, MO; Mark Mallory, Mayor, City of Cincinnati, OH

(90 minute session) Communities, encouraging economic growth and improving quality of life for residents. The plenary starts with dynamic local mayors from the Kansas City metro area sharing their forward-thinking perspectives on what “community” means to them as progressive Midwestern leaders. They explain how they’ve joined forces to improve the standard of life in the region and overcome common challenges faced by local governments. They arejoined on stage by another dynamic mayor from major urban city, who presents his bold vision for a new 21st-century American city, a blueprint already in use to spark a dramatic transformation in his community. Learn how political will and strong leadership are crucial to building sustainable communities – where people live near good jobs, schools, stores and recreational opportunities – and can take advantage of transportation that easily connects them – in a 21st-century American city.

Audio CDs: 1

Audio CD

$15.00

$15.00

NPSG13-111

The NYC Waterfront Justice Project: Making Industrial Waterfronts Community Resilient/Climate Adaptable

Speakers: Elizabeth Yeampierre, Esq., Executive Director, UPROSE; Juan Camilo Osorio, Policy Analyst, New York Environmental Justice Alliance. Moderator: Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, New York Environmental Justice Alliance

Climate change is creating new challenges for businesses and residents in industrial waterfront communities. Climate change impacts may increase the risk of exposures to hazardous substances in areas vulnerable to sea level rise, storm surge and flooding. The work of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, a coalition of community-based organizations in low-income communities of color, shows how affected communities are leading the call to integrate climate adaptation planning and pollution prevention into planning and development in industrial waterfront communities. Industrial businesses located in vulnerable coastal areas will require innovative risk reduction and redevelopment strategies. Community-led, multi-stakeholder coalitions play a key role in developing new strategies to integrate climate change adaptation, industrial waterfront planning, and brownfields redevelopment. Financial and technical resources are required to help reduce risk, while protecting local industrial jobs and building a green economy.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-326

Greening America's Cities: A Capital Idea

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-107

Building Community While Greening the City: The Parklet Revolution

Speakers: Ariel Ben-Amos, Senior Planner/Analyst, Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, Philadelphia, PA; Alexis Smith, Planner / Urban Designer, City of San Francisco, CA; John Bela, Principal, Rebar. Moderator: Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission

The elements of a parklet – a parking spot transformed into a tiny public relaxation area – can vary, from a patch of grass-like turf and plants to an outdoor patio with seating. At a time when city budgets are severely constrained, parklets have become a popular way for residents and businesses to green their neighborhoods. Parklets got a start in 2005 in San Francisco, when staff of a design firm fed a parking meter with coins, covered the asphalt with sod, and added a potted tree. Their experiment spread like wildfire. The City responded by making parklets legal and setting up an approval process. Today parklets can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the City. The parklet concept has spread beyond SF, with different versions evolving for different climates. This session features a professional from the San Francisco Parks Department, a staff member from the Mayor’s Office in the City of Philadelphia, and a representative of Rebar, the design firm that initiated the parklet revolution.

Audio CDs: 1

Audio CD

$15.00

$15.00

NPSG13-330

Closing Plenary: Sustainable Communities – Learning from the Past and Looking toward the Future

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

Subtotal

$185.00