In the winter of 2007, CLF launched a broad community outreach campaign to share the Regional Equity Atlas findings with policymakers, community and business leaders, and residents as broadly as possible throughout the region. The Regional Equity Atlas Program included three tracks:

1. Policymaker and Community Leader Forums
2. Community Introductory Workshops
3. Solutions Workshops

This outreach campaign aimed to:

1. Ground-truth the Equity Atlas results and generate feedback on the implications of the research from community members and organizations living and working in the region.
2. Train groups on how to use the Equity Atlas as an advocacy tool to inform and support work around regional equity.
3. Provide an opportunity to generate community-based solutions to the inequities presented in the Equity Atlas.

Through our outreach efforts we engaged over 3,000 individuals and gathered hundreds of proposals for how to address inequity in our region.  To synthesize ideas and narrow the list, we developed the Regional Equity Action Agenda, which articulates these regional equity solutions and a blueprint for implementing them.

Running through this project was the desire to start a community dialogue by posing the question: what are the implications of our research on how we approach regional planning and development? Specifically, we wanted to engage the community, especially those who have historically been left out of planning debates and decision making to help us determine what actions we take to address these challenges.

 

In collaboration with our Atlas partners at Portland State University, along with series sponsors, Kaiser Permanente and Washington Mutual, we held three breakfast forums to share the results with elected officials and other community leaders.

Forums took place on:

• January 24, 2007, Portland State University (Housing and Transportation)
  Forum Moderator: Metro Councilor, Rex Burkholder

• February 27, 2007, Kaiser Permanente Town Hall (Schools and Housing)
  Forum Moderator: Oregon Business Council Director, Duncan Wyse

• March 20, 2007, Kaiser Permanente Town Hall (Health and Community Design)
  Forum moderator: Metro Councilor, Robert Liberty

Download the Forum Summary Report.

 

Starting in the summer of 2007, we began holding dozens of Atlas introductory workshops targeted at reaching community organizations working on the issues covered in the Atlas.  Since publishing the Atlas, we have introduced the Atlas to well over 2,000 people and continue to schedule presentations with community groups interested in learning more about the project.

Introductory Sessions were designed as interactive presentations where (1) participants could learn about the Atlas; (2) provide CLF an opportunity to ground-truth the Atlas findings with anecdotal community experiences; and (3) serve as a hook to get people involved in the third phase of the outreach process (the Solutions Workshops).  These presentations were given by CLF volunteer facilitators, in partnership with the Equity Atlas Outreach Coordinator (an intern position) and other staff members.

If you support this work and are interested in introducing the Atlas to your friends and colleagues, consider having a house party! Email or call Dianne at dianne@clfuture.org or 503-294-2889 to learn more!

 

In January and February of 2008 we held five Solutions Workshops that brought together participants with many different affiliations including those who work for city, county, and metro governments, non-profit organizations, private businesses, neighborhood associations, churches and other important community groups across the region. We also held a workshop with key community leaders of color whose work is based in advancing equity in the region.

Over 200 individuals who participated in the Introductory Sessions, as well as key community leaders from diverse disciplines, were brought together to analyze the underlying dynamics of the Atlas findings and develop possible solutions for our Equity Action Agenda.

Local consultant, Kris Smock, has designed these workshops. She has over 10 years of experience working as a consultant to non-profits in the fields of community organizing, affordable housing, public policy and economic justice. She is author of Democracy in Action: Community Organizing and Urban Change (2003).

Download the Solutions Summary Report.

Equity Action Committee

CLF’s Equity Action Committee, as well as staff, worked to collapse and refine the hundreds of proposals that were generated in the Solutions Workshops.  In an effort to focus on identifying preliminary strategies for the Regional Equity Action Agenda, the ideas were evaluated based on a set of “Solutions Criteria” (inset box). 

The Committee and the CLF Board met together in February of 2008 to narrow the list of proposals and prioritize them based on the solutions criteria.  This narrowing step helped focus the topics for the breakout discussions at the 2008 Summit.

We also are continuing to encourage people to share their ideas through our online Feedback Forums or by contacting our Equity Agenda Coordinator, Dianne at dianne@clfuture.org or 503-294-2889.

 

The Sixth Annual Livability Summit on May 28th, 2008 helped to create an agenda for true sustainability in the region—one that harnesses our desire for positive change, recognizes our interconnectedness, aspires toward equality and inclusion, and lives up to the promise of our people and our place.

CLF unveiled the preliminary strategies that emerged from the community during the Regional Equity Atlas outreach program. These ideas provided a focus for the plenary panels, breakouts, and other activities throughout the day.  Over 300 participants worked in seven breakout groups in order to determine the most promising strategies that were informed by the collapsed strategies that came out of the Solutions Workshops.

Download the 2008 Summit Proceedings. 

 

This multi-year process culminated in the development of the Regional Equity Action Agenda.  Following the 2008 Summit, CLF staff conducted research on best practices and met with organizations that are leading campaigns on emerging Equity Action Agenda initiatives to finalize the Regional Equity Action Agenda.  Click here for more information on the Equity Action Agenda and for a copy of the initiatives and action items.

 

The 2009 Summit, which took place on May 20th, continued to build upon the Regional Equity Atlas work and was our most successful Summit yet.  With a record number of participants (over 330) and breakout sessions (18) the program was designed to generate systems thinking, collaboration, inclusion, and accountability. These are the things that underpin CLF’s Regional Equity Action Agenda – a blueprint for increasing equality in our region as we strive for a sustainable future.

The Summit aimed to spark conversations to achieve a collective agenda for change - change for a “just sustainability.” It focused on solutions that are inclusive of all members of community, solutions that tackle root causes of our problems, solutions that bring forth the dream of health, sustainability, and equity. 

Download the 2009 Summit Proceedings.