Racial equity webinar series ends through example

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With talk about the importance of racial equity within community work, stakeholders often wonder how such principles can be operationalized at the project level. A recent webinar took on the question through example.

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity, in partnership with Better Bike Share, held the final webinar in its series on racial justice last week. The webinar featured two separate case studies for applying racial equity tools.

First, the City of Salinas and Building Healthy Communities shared their experience engaging with racial equity work. The process featured a workshop for trauma-informed healing between 50 city staff members and 50 Salinas residents. Providing childcare, translation, and a substantial dinner offering were critical to the process.

Next, the City of Portland shared strategies for breaking down silos with their efforts to preserve housing options near a new light rail development. The project goals include constructing affordable housing, centering tenant rights, providing access to legal aid, and helping existing residents remain in their housing. The initiative includes accountability mechanisms to track success and growth areas.

Overall, the GARE webinar series gave a historical and current overview of racial equity concerns and shed light on how city agencies, nonprofits, and other partners can best approach challenging conversations toward inclusionary goals.

>See full webinar recording here.

The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation as a collaborative between the City of Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the PeopleForBikes Foundation to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or sign up for our weekly newsletter. Story tip? Write stefani@betterbikeshare.org.