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NATIONAL COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION ALLIANCE
(CRA)
Detroit May
5-7, 2008 Inauguration of the National Community Revitalization
Alliance. The Community
Revitalization Alliance was launched in collaboration with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other partners at
the Agency’s national brownfields conference BF 2008 in Detroit.
Click Here
for details
Montgomery County Maryland Convenes Healthy and Sustainable
Communities Workshop
The
Montgomery County Maryland Planning Board and the Montgomery
County Executive, Isaiah Leggett, convened a Healthy and
Sustainable Communities Workshop June 25-26, 2008 at Shady
Grove Universities. Sustainable Community Development
Group, Inc. President, Deeohn Ferris, served as a Content
Expert on Environment Justice. Deeohn developed and
delivered over 30 environmental justice indicators relevant
to Montgomery County. Content experts, who guided the
workshop events, were from organizations such as the
Brookings Institution, the Washington Council of
Governments, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and included
leaders such as former Maryland Governor, Parris
Glendenning.
U.S.
Housing and Urban Development Greening of Brownfields Forum
on Affordable Housing
Deeohn
Ferris, President of Sustainable Community Development
Group, Inc. was the keynote speaker on June 12, 2008 at U.S.
HUD’s national forum on sustainable redevelopment of
affordable housing in distressed neighborhoods. The forum,
convened by the Office of Policy Development and Research,
was opened by U.S. HUD General Deputy Assistant Secretary
Jean Lin Pao and David Lloyd, U.S. EPA’s Director of
Brownfields and Land Revitalization. Leading experts and
practitioners from around the nation were invited.
Stakeholders included local, state and federal government,
and leaders in the fields of green design and architecture,
affordable housing, community development, insurance,
construction, economic development, smart growth and the
social sciences. Recommendations from the forum suggest
sustainable options for brownfields redevelopment and
practices that support green building standards.
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008 National Smart Growth
Awards
Deeohn Ferris, President of
Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. was selected
again this year by U.S. EPA to serve on the panel of
reviewers for the Seventh Annual National Award for Smart
Growth Achievement. The National Award for
Smart Growth Achievement recognizes communities that use the
principles of smart growth to create better places. This
competition is open to local and state governments and other
public sector entities. The awards will be announced in
Washington, DC in November 2008.
Carnegie Mellon
University Brownfields Center Hosts Redevelopment SWAT Team
Sustainable Community
Development Group, Inc. was among a select group of expert
organizations convened by the Western Pennsylvania
Brownfields Center at Carnegie Mellon University (WPBC) May
27-30, 2008. The WPBC is a regional resource for
communities and small businesses in the areas of
environment, economic development and land-use surrounding
the revitalization of old industrial sites. Deeohn Ferris
shared sustainable redevelopment and community engagement
expertise targeting the waterfront communities of Homestead
and West Homestead in inner ring suburban Pittsburgh. In
addition to touring the redevelopment areas and needs
assessment, the team of six experts met with a cross section
of key stakeholders: elected officials, governmental
officials, businesses, property owners and developers. The
team gathered and shared insights during a community-wide
meeting, developed recommendations and delivered them at a
press conference on May 30.
For more information, click on
this link:
http://www.cmu.edu/steinbrenner/brownfields/images/homesteadbrochure.pdf
American Planning Association Web Conference on Urban
Redevelopment
The
American Planning Association and the American Institute of
Certified Planners featured Deeohn Ferris during a web
conference convened on May 21, 2008. The web conference
entitled “Community-Based Brownfields Redevelopment,”
focused on community strategies and local best practices
that address redevelopment in distressed neighborhoods.
Joining Deeohn were Mildred Wiley, Bethel New Life; Diane
Strassmaier, US EPA Region 9; David Morley and Carolyn Torma
of the American Planning Association. From our perspective,
Deeohn addressed inclusion of community sector stakeholders
and under-served constituencies, sustainability and greening
of redevelopment, incentives to engage community development
corporations and equitable development.
Deep
South Center for Environmental Justice National Symposium
Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. participated
in the Deep South Center’s national symposium on “Race,
Place and the Environment After Katrina.” The symposium was
held May 14-17, 2008 in New Orleans. Sustainable’s
President, Deeohn Ferris, moderated a plenary session
entitled “Trails of Trash” focusing on land and commodities
re-use, urban farming, recycling and advanced
waste-to-energy technologies.
Kellogg
Foundation’s 2008 Food and Society Gathering for Good Food
On behalf of Sustainable
Community Development Group, Inc. community organizer
Charlotte Keys attended the the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s
invitational 2008 Food and Society Gathering for Good Food.
This year, the Foundation’s national conference was held at
Wild Horse Pass Resort in the Gila River Indian Community of
Chandler, AZ. Charlotte’s organization, Jesus People
Against Pollution, is engaged in the national coalition the
Community Revitalization Alliance, which is hosted and
managed by Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc.
This year’s gathering, April
29-May 1, 2008, connected leadership and community from
around the nation who are striving to co-create and sustain
the growing movement for healthy, green, fair, and
affordable food in the United States.
The Funders
Network for Smart Growth and Liveable Communities
launches PLACES Program
Sustainable Community
Development Group, Inc. supports the Funders Network for
Smart Growth and Liveable Communities in developing and
implementing the PLACES Program, People Learning About
Community, Equity and Smart Growth. The inaugural class
of PLACES fellows, from philanthropies around the
nation, convened at the Funders Network annual
conference March 30-April 1, 2008 in Denver. PLACES, a
unique learning environment for funders, is building a
strong network of peers and working to advance fairness
and opportunity for the underserved, low income
communities and communities of color. PLACES is a
year-long curriculum designed to inform decisions, both
through policy and practice, in ways that are responsive
to the needs and assets of low income communities.
Distinguished experts, renowned in their fields, serve
as faculty on complex issues of race and class and
explore implications for sustainable community
development, regionalism, environmental justice and
smart growth.
The African American Forum on Race & Regionalism convenes
two events in New Orleans March 5-6, 2008.
Elected Officials Forum
On March 5, 2008 in New Orleans, the African
American Forum and the Joint Center co-convened an
invitational national briefing for Black elected officials
from around the nation. The national briefing was held in
conjunction with PolicyLink’s Regional Equity '08: The
Third National Summit on Equitable Development, Social
Justice, and Smart Growth. Mayors and other city, county
and local elected officials strategized on building public
policy education infrastructure for preparing and networking
on approaches that promote equitable growth and development,
sustainability and regional equity. The national briefing
will lead to specific efforts designed to deepen the
discourse in the broader African American community about
policies, strategies and outcomes that promote racial and
social justice, encourage efforts to build alliances,
collaborate and inform policymakers and other stakeholders
across racial and ethnic stakeholder groups.
African American Caucus
During the
PolicyLink Summit, Regional Equity ’08 in New Orleans, the
African American Forum convened the third PolicyLink Summit
African American Caucus in partnership with the Jamestown
Project, a diverse action-oriented think tank of new leaders
of color who reach across boundaries and generations to
address issues of race and democracy in ways that make
democracy real. On March 6, 2008 the capacity audience of
African Americans and other stakeholders participated in a
lively discussion with prominent African Americans from
academia, the public, and community sectors on building
leadership for change that starts from the bottom up with
the community. The African American Caucus promotes
information exchange, alliance building and
interdisciplinary networking opportunities.
Community Revitalization Alliance featured at
National Community Reinvestment Coalition's Annual
Conference, April 2008 in Washington DC.
Deeohn Ferris delivered
plenary remarks on the emerging green economy and
leveraging benefits to address sustainable redevelopment
including social, economic and environmental disparities
in underserved communities. Over 500 people joined NCRC
at the annual conference: Creating the Vision for a Fair
Economy: Investing in People and Communities”. Community
leaders, lawmakers, regulators, civil rights leaders,
bankers, the media, housing groups, faith-based
organizations, business development organizations
and environmental justice advocates, green builders,
trainers, workforce developers and others - came
together over four event filled days on Capitol Hill.
National Vacant Properties Conference
Sustainable
Community Development Group’s President, Deeohn Ferris,
addressed the National Vacant Properties Conference convened
September 24-25, 2007 in Pittsburgh. She addressed conference
participants on issues of equitable redevelopment of
distressed neighborhoods including vacant and brownfields
properties. Close to 650 people from throughout the country
- practitioners, policymakers, and concerned citizens - came
together in this first of its kind conference to share their
experiences and strategies for combating vacant properties
to benefit the communities around them. The National Vacant
Properties Campaign is affilated with Smart Growth America.
This Article/clip is from the community-wealth.org October
2007 e-newsletter
http://www.community-wealth.org/_pdfs/news/recent-articles/10-07/article-nvpc.pdf
Knowledgeplex Web-inar
Series on Redeveloping Brownfields
On October 23, 2007, Deeohn Ferris
participated in The Brownfields Chat Series co-sponsored by
KnowledgePlex, the National Vacant Properties Campaign, Fannie
Mae and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. This chat
focused on future challenges and opportunities in brownfields
redevelopment. She was among a diverse panel of national
experts and local practitioners who shared expertise and
insights, with a special focus on the important role that
community based organizations can and should play in the next
decade of brownfields redevelopment. Panelists covered the roles
of state environmental regulatory agencies, the federal
brownfields program, local governments, community organizations,
and private sector developers. Other panelists included Paul
Connor, National Association of Local Government Environmental
Professionals; Richard G. Opper, Opper & Varco LLP; and Lenny
Seigel, Center for Public Environmental Oversight.
National
U.S. EPA Smart Growth Awards
Deeohn Ferris, President of
Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. was selected by
U.S. EPA to serve on the panel of reviewers for the Sixth Annual
National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. Awards will be
given in five categories: Build Projects, Policies and
Regulations; Waterfront and Coastal Communities, Equitable
Development, and Overall Excellence in Smart Growth. Awards
will be presented in Washington, DC in December 2007.
New AAFRR Publications
on Equitable Regionalism
Sustainable Community
Development Group, Inc. managed and coordinated the
development of three new publications with contributions
by the African American Forum on Race & Regionalism (AAFRR).
1.
Regionalism:
Growing Together to Expand Opportunity to All
a groundbreaking
comprehensive study of regionalism trends nationally, and
implications for regionalism in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
Download the study
summary at:
Study Summary Report
Download the full study
at:
Cleveland Report Full Study
2. FOCUS
Magazine Volume 35, Issue 2 (March / April 2007)
This magazine is a collaborative special edition
partnership between the African American Forum on Race &
Regionalism and the Joint Center for Political and
Economic Studies, the nation’s premier Black think
tank. Featured articles are written by AAFRR Director,
Deeohn Ferris, and AAFRR co-chairs, Angela Glover
Blackwell, john a powell and Robert D. Bullard.
Select back issues are
available online at http://www.jointcenter.org
3.
The Next
American City Magazine (Winter 2006 No. 13)
features articles on equitable regionalism by AAFRR
Director, Deeohn Ferris, and AAFRR co-chairs, Angela
Glover Blackwell, john a powell and Robert D. Bullard.
Online at
http://americancity.org
New Orleans Area Health
Disparities Project
The New Orleans Area Health
Disparities Project was managed and coordinated by Sustainable
Community Development Group, Inc. including building the
national/local coalition of environmental, health and social
service organizations that initiated the project, the four-month
planning process, meetings and communications, the project
conference in New Orleans, and all logistics.
Due to the scrutiny of racial
justice issues and health impacts in the aftermath of Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, the New Orleans area was the site of a series
of meetings in the region about health disparities culminating
in a conference in New Orleans on June 12, 2006. The planning
activities leading up to it launched new collaborations and
follow-up initiatives, media coverage and public accountability
focused on restoration and a sustainable future for this unique
region.
Download the report on the project,
“Rebuilding a Healthy New Orleans After Katrina: Final Report
of the New Orleans Health Disparities Initiative (May 2007)” at:
http://www.prrac.org/pdf/rebuild_healthy_nola.pdf
National Community
Reinvestment Coalition
Sustainable Community Development
Group’s President, Deeohn Ferris, addressed the May 2007
national conference of the National Community Reinvestment
Coalition (NCRC) in Washington, DC. Her talk focused on
building alliances between the community development,
environmental and health fields to ensure that communities
achieve the benefits of sustainable development and
redevelopment. This event marked the first time that NCRC, a
national leader on economic and community development, featured
a session on brownfields, vacant properties, sustainable
communities and environmental justice.
Carnegie Mellon University
Hosts Forum on Environmental Justice
On April 31, 2007 Deeohn
Ferris joined other national leaders in the field to address a
conference on environmental justice hosted by Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, PA. This two-day seminar
explored the complex issues of environmental justice and the
pressing problems associated with environmental issues in
communities of color and low income communities in the United
States and around the world. The weekend events consisted
of major presentations by nationally known experts who shared
in-depth analysis of the issues and group discussions of
specific topics.
Environmental Delegation to
Bolivia
Sustainable Community Development
Group’s President, Deeohn Ferris, was invited to join a team of
leading environmental lawyers from around the globe on a
delegation to Bolivia to work on conservation and environmental
issues with Bolivian grassroots groups, environmental and
educational organizations and governmental officials.
In September and October 2006, the
delegation traveled to Bolivia beginning in Cochabamba, the site
of the 2000 water wars (which sparked several years of
country-wide resistance to commercializing water), home of
alternative non-genetically modified (GMO) crop development
projects and organic farming, and gateway to the Chapare coca
region. After the Cochambamba region, the delegation visited
and met in La Paz, the governmental capital of Bolivia,
which has seen major political and environmental activities in
recent years as well as the election of Evo Morales the nation’s
first indigenous president.
The lawyers met with activists in El
Alto, La Paz's impoverished city that is renowned as the fastest
growing city in South America, where citizens have successfully
mobilized for environmental rights and change on several
fronts in recent years. The delegation wrapped up with a visit
to the environmental wonder Lake Titicaca.
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