Smart growth encourages development that creates healthy, vibrant places and gives people greater opportunity and choice. How can smart growth investments support equitable development, environmental justice and economic vitality and empower communities of color, tribes and disadvantaged groups to shape the neighborhoods and regions where they live? The New Partners for Smart Growth Conference includes several sessions and a pre-conference workshop that explore these critical issues and showcase strategies and opportunities for greater collaboration among the smart growth, equitable development and environmental justice communities.

The February 2nd workshop is a follow up to the highly successful Working Together for Equitable Development event held in conjunction with the 2010 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Seattle, WA. The workshop will focus on building the capacity of community-based organizations to engage in growth and development issues in their neighborhoods and regions, and will introduce tools, resources and strategies through panel discussions, trainings, and peer-to-peer exchanges. Session topics include financing equitable development; working with local, state and federal government; and current equitable development policy trends. The day will be kicked off with remarks by Lisa Garcia, EPA's Associate Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice. Pre-registration and a small fee are required.

Equity and environmental justice issues are also infused throughout the entire conference program. Some of the sessions covering those topics are: Successful Approaches to Equitable Development: Capacity Building, Area-Wide Planning and Revitalization Strategies; Latinos and Smart Growth: Lost in Translation; Addressing Gentrification: Strategies for Fair and Equitable Neighborhood Development; "Race"-ing to Equity: A Toolkit and Tale of Two Cities; Linking Climate Justice and Sustainability to National Equitable Development Advocacy Concerns; Environmental Justice and Community Engagement: Can Inclusive Engagement Lead to Just and Smart Growth?; Overcoming Exclusion: Advancing Equity in Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities; and, Sustainable Communities & Freight – Applying a Smart Growth Framework to Ports, Goods Movement & Environmental Justice.

Diversity Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships and travel stipends are available to minority community leaders, leaders from disadvantaged communities, as well as representatives from organizations whose work is primarily focused on social equity and environmental justice. For more details or to apply for a diversity scholarship, please contact Shani Alford at [email protected] or 916-448-1198 x330.

Registration and Hotel Reservations: Register online now for the conference, and before the January 14 deadline. The special $95 room rate at the Westin Charlotte Hotel is available until January 10.

See the New Partners for Smart Growth conference web site. Web link: www.NewPartners.org

For more information, contact:
Michele Warren, Local Government Commission
1303 J St., Suite 250, Sacramento, CA 95814 US
phone: 916-448-1198 ext. 308;
email: [email protected]