Tag Archive: rhodemapRI

December 17, 2015

IISC Brings Equity to RI Planning Process

Sustainable City Network publishes about best practices for Leaders in Government, Education, and Healthcare. Recently they featured IISC Senior Associate Cynthia Sila Parker, reflecting on Rhode Island’s 2-year planning process, which incorporates equity goals. Read More

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November 19, 2015

Equity and Urban Planning – Lead boldly, collaboratively, authentically

This is the fourth of a four part series, sharing some of the lessons IISC and Horsley Witten Group learned in our efforts to support RhodeMap RI in weaving social equity into its regional planning process, and particularly our facilitation of the project’s Social Equity Advisory Committee.

Lesson 4: Lead boldly, collaboratively, authentically

Finally, working in this kind of collaborative partnership is unfamiliar for many planners and also for many community residents. It requires everyone to do their best to embrace the discomfort and awkwardness that comes with learning and develop both attitudes and habits that support collaboration. IISC has found that several key values and attributes are important for collaborative change agents to be well-positioned to support this way of working. The attributes include demonstrating a collaborative mindset, strategic thinking and a receptive and flexible skillset for facilitating collaboration. Core values include mutuality and service, authenticity, and love – a deep regard for the well-being of others. Read More

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November 16, 2015

Equity and Urban Planning – Build institutional capacity and culture

This is the third of a four part series, sharing some of the lessons IISC and Horsley Witten Group learned in our efforts to support RhodeMap RI in weaving social equity into its regional planning process, and particularly our facilitation of the project’s Social Equity Advisory Committee.

Lesson 3. Build the capacity and culture within public planning institutions to focus on equity and to facilitate broad-based public engagement.

Most planning agencies, regulators, and planning consultants are not well equipped to take on the challenge of seriously engaging communities that chronically experience social inequities. As a planning agency prepares to launch a planning process, it needs to build both a culture and capacity that welcomes and supports engaging community members. This often begins with acknowledging the expertise that comes from lived experience, and the awareness that the agency may not have all the knowledge and skill it needs to take equity seriously. Read More

Equity and Urban Planning – Engage those most directly affected by inequities

This is the second of a four part series, sharing some of the lessons IISC and Horsley Witten Group learned in our efforts to support RhodeMap RI in weaving social equity into its regional planning process, and particularly our facilitation of the project’s Social Equity Advisory Committee.

Lesson 2. Design the process for maximum and meaningful involvement, particularly of those who are most directly affected by the inequities, and build the community’s capacity and infrastructure to participate in the process.

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November 9, 2015

Equity and Urban Planning – Weave equity into process and content

This is the first of a four part series, sharing some of the lessons IISC and Horsley Witten Group learned in our efforts to support RhodeMap RI in weaving social equity into its regional planning process, and particularly our facilitation of the project’s Social Equity Advisory Committee.

Lesson 1: Weave equity into the planning process AND the content of the resulting plans.

As you heard from the participants in the video above, if you really want a plan for housing, economic development, land use (or anything else, really!) that results in more equitable outcomes, the process needs to reflect a commitment to equity, and the plans need to include elements that explicitly aim for greater equity. Before we go any further, a working definition: By “equity,” we mean a situation where all groups have access to the resources and opportunities necessary to improve the quality of their lives (that’s the process part!) and differences in life outcomes cannot be predicted on the basis of race, class, or other dimensions of identity (that’s the outcomes part!). It’s pretty hard to imagine achieving greater equity in both senses without being intentional about how the process is designed and the ideas that are included in the plans.

We worked with the Horsley Witten Group to facilitate the work of RhodeMap RI’s Social Equity Advisory Committee (SEAC), which focused specifically on social equity. SEAC was charged with offering input and feedback into planning activities and contributing to the housing and economic development plans. SEAC developed a set of Guiding Principles to guide the planning process and implementation of the resulting plans. These principles have relevance well beyond RI.

Principles related to the planning process included:

Do not shy away from frank discussions. Get comfortable with words we don’t like to use, such as segregation and racism. Be explicit about the role that race and ethnicity play in the distribution of benefits and burdens in Rhode Island.
Listen to the voices of those who have historically been excluded from planning decisions and create opportunities for lasting involvement in planning decisions by members of communities of color.
Engage and involve community residents during implementation.
Make sure meetings and materials are accessible.

Principles related to the content of the housing and economic development plans included:

State clearly that the goal of all of these plans is to eliminate disparities along race, class, gender, and other dimensions of diversity. Prioritize efforts to improve the housing and economic conditions of those who are struggling the most.
Make sure that [economic and housing] development is focused on the needs of people.
Use public funds for public good, particularly marginalized populations in the community, not private profits.
Be clear, specific and direct so that outcomes can be measurable and there can be accountability for outcomes. Mandate accountability in the implementation plans.
Make sure that plans for housing, economic development and transportation are integrated because the issues are connected.

While not a perfect process, participants from communities, government, and organizations credit SEAC with making strong contributions to the plans, as well as providing important feedback about the process. You can check out the economic development plan yourself and look for evidence of SEAC’s thinking woven throughout. Stay tuned. In upcoming posts, we will explore three other lessons learned:

This series builds on a workshop designed by Nate Kelly of the Horsley Witten Group and Cynthia Silva Parker of IISC.

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