National Summit Showcases Ways to Revitalize America's Cities, Suburbs, Rural Areas; May 23-25

NEW YORK, May 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- From May 23 to 25, 2005, Advancing Regional Equity: The Second National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth will be the focus of presentations and conversation at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, in Philadelphia. "The people coming to the summit," says Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, summit co-sponsor, "are ready to share experience, knowledge, and information to help build true inclusion in American by challenging 50 years of neglect and sprawling development patterns that have been supported by vast public and private investments."

Summit participants include foundation executives, nonprofit leaders, community organizers, business leaders, developers, academics, and advocates who are determined to make equality, social justice, and smart growth accessible in America's cities, suburbs, and rural communities, and Blackwell continues, "who are ready to deliver on a truly inclusive agenda, one that is rooted in lessons learned from hard work in neighborhoods all across America."

Summit sessions will examine:

- How metropolitan development patterns affect children, families, and communities;

- What the continuing movement of jobs from inner cities to the suburbs means not only for residents in urban areas but throughout regions;

- The shifts in immigration and racial composition that are necessitating a new way to think about diversity and equity;

- How the business community and community organizations are working together to produce a double bottom line: community benefits and investment returns;

- The need for neighborhood food markets to seriously address obesity issues; strategies for creating affordable housing for people with limited income; expanding transportation options; and - How to gain the public will necessary to achieve economic and social equity.

Each plenary and workshop session will underscore the importance of leadership in building alliances among an array of organizations, businesses, and philanthropy to develop and implement innovative policies and practices. "Philanthropy has a critical part to play in nurturing equity," says L. Benjamin Starrett, executive director of the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, summit co-sponsor, "because foundations can provide the financial and intermediary resources that enable successful community-based efforts to grow, thrive, and multiply."

Philanthropy's commitment to issues raised at the summit is evident in the contributions from such major foundations as the Ford, William Penn, W.K. Kellogg, Rockefeller, and Annie E. Casey foundations, the Hewlett Packard Company, and over 30 philanthropies that are supporting the summit and delegations attending the summit.

Over 100 summit speakers include:

- Carl Anthony, acting director, Community and Resource Development Unit, Ford Foundation;

- David Brancaccio, NOW;

- Liza Featherstone, author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Right at Wal-Mart;

- Robert Garcia, executive director, Center for Law in the Public Interest;

- Lisa Hasegawa, executive director, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development;

- Gerald Hudson, executive vice president, Service Employees International Union/1199 (SEIU)

- Sharmain Matlock-Turner, president, Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition;

- Hussein M. Samatar, executive director, African Development Center;

- Anthony M. Santomero, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

- Peggy Shepard, executive director and co-founder, West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT);

- Reverend Andre L. Shumake, Sr., president, Richmond (CA) Improvement Association; and

- Ray Suarez, senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Blackwell observes that "Too many people in America live in isolated communities that lack affordable housing, living wage jobs, public transit, good schools, and health environments free from poor air and water quality and disease-causing toxic sites." Change, she says, happens when there are people committed to making it happen. "It is those people, the ones who are committed to change, who are coming to Philadelphia, and they are coming with a determination to make real differences in people's lives."

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CONTACTS: Rosia Blackwell Lawrence, 212-629-9570 ext. 204, rosia@policylink.org

Milly Hawk Daniel, 212-629-9570 ext. 212, mdaniel@policylink.org

ABOUT: PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization, dedicated to advancing policies to achieve economic and social equity.

ABOUT: The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities works to inspire, catalyze, and strengthen philanthropic leadership and expand funders' abilities to support organizations working to build more livable communities through smarter growth policies and practices.