Cultivating Recovery & Resilience in Small Cities, Part 2: Pathways to Equity

| PART 2: PATHWAYS TO EQUITY |

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We cannot talk about longterm resiliency without addressing the challenges of equity and social justice in our cities.

The Covid pandemic has exacerbated the inequity gap in our most vulnerable communities, further straining already tenuous access to schooling, support networks, healthcare, savings, work flexibility, technology, and time. Emerging from this pandemic will require all sectors to work hard to assist low-income and minority neighborhoods in supporting existing and re-establishing new support networks and systems of resilience. What is the role of public and private sectors? How can we make our small and midsize cities places full of inclusive opportunities for all?

In this panel we’ll examine the levers of power we have at our disposal to confront systemic inequity in our cities, including equitable housing and zoning policies, community healthcare access, minority-focused economic development, and the burgeoning environmental justice movement. Our panelists bring a range of approaches and represent all four midsize metro regions in Upstate NY.

Speakers:

Moderator:

REIF LARSEN | Founder, Future of Small Cities Institute

CULTIVATING RECOVERY & RESILIENCE IN SMALL CITIES

A Three-Part Webinar Series

As small cities across the country struggle with the immediate effects of the Covid pandemic, we are also beginning to look for long-term recovery strategies. How do we begin to establish a resilient economy and culture that will be able to weather the challenges ahead? What lessons have we learned from this pandemic and what innovations might we want to make permanent?

As difficult as the economic slowdown has been for our communities, it has also offered an unprecedented chance to pause and reflect on our practices, to course correct and to envision a more just, more inclusive, more sustainable future. Small cities, while particularly vulnerable to economic disruptions, can also lean into their strong community fabric and adapt new strategies and new partnerships, informed by the past but mindful of what lies ahead.

During these three webinars, we’ll hear from an array of planners, developers, designers, and community organizers who have been thinking deeply about this question of resilience as we look to  bounce forward, not back.

Presented in collaboration with the Capital Region Business Improvement Districts, the Upstate New York American Planners Association, the Troy Innovation Garage, the Community Foundation, and the Capital District Regional Planning Commission.