John T. Dunlop Lecture: Angela Glover Blackwell

Summary

Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, delivered the 16th annual John T. Dunlop Lecture on the importance of equitable housing policy in America. She emphasized the interconnectedness of housing with education, health, and economic mobility, and argued that where people live is a determinant of their opportunities. Blackwell highlighted the moral, economic, and democratic imperatives for addressing inequality and种族 (racism), pointing out the rapid demographic shifts in the U.S. that make inclusive policies not just a social necessity, but a key to national prosperity. She advocated for a comprehensive approach to policy that views housing as a means to improve education, health, and wealth-building in disadvantaged communities, stressing the need for a policy framework that advances equity and removes barriers to opportunity.

Takeaways

• 🏡 Housing is a critical issue that is closely linked to education, health, and economic opportunities, shaping the life outcomes of individuals and communities.
• 📈 Demographic shifts are leading to a more diverse population, with people of color becoming the majority in the United States by 2044, emphasizing the need for inclusive policies.
• 💼 Economic growth is directly linked to reduced inequality, as studies show that lower inequality correlates with extended periods of economic growth.
• 🌐 The concept of 'toxic inequality' is recognized as a barrier to social mobility, middle-class stability, and overall national prosperity.
• 🔄 There is a pressing need for a multifaceted approach to address complex issues like housing, education, and health, which are deeply interconnected.
• 🚌 Investment in infrastructure should be strategic, aiming to connect people to opportunities, jobs, and essential services, thereby fostering equitable growth.
• 🏢 Affordable housing policies must be integrated with efforts to improve education, health, and employment to ensure communities of opportunity.
• 📚 Education from cradle to career is identified as a key policy area that could transform the nation by ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach their potential.
• 👮‍♂️ Addressing systemic racism and barriers to opportunity is crucial for social and economic progress, with the need to dismantle structural inequalities.
• 👫 Building social and community capital is essential to create robust support systems that can act as buffers against societal challenges and provide access to resources.
• 🌟 Positive change is possible when there is a collective commitment to equity, as seen in the advocacy for disability rights leading to beneficial changes like curb cuts for everyone.

Q & A

What is the significance of the annual John T. Dunlop Lecture?

The annual John T. Dunlop Lecture is a special event that commemorates Professor Dunlop's contributions to academia, policy, and industry. It provides an opportunity to discuss pressing housing challenges and brings together academia, policy, and industry to seek solutions.

How does the Joint Center for Housing Studies collaborate with the Department of Urban Planning and Design?

The Joint Center for Housing Studies collaborates closely with the Department of Urban Planning and Design, sharing intellectual and financial support, as well as sponsorship. This collaboration is critical to the mission of the department and has led to advancements in understanding housing challenges in the context of just, equitable, and sustainable cities.

What is the role of Chris Herbert in the Joint Center for Housing Studies?

Chris Herbert is the Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies and a lecturer in the Department of Urban Planning and Design. He is a scholar with extensive experience in housing policy and urban development and has been leading the center since 2015.

Why is Angela Glover Blackwell a suitable keynote speaker for the event?

Angela Glover Blackwell is a nationally recognized leader in the area of economic and social equity. As the CEO of PolicyLink, she has been instrumental in using public policy to improve access and opportunity for low-income individuals and communities of color, particularly in areas such as health, housing, transportation, education, and infrastructure.

What is the importance of the Policy Advisory Board for the Joint Center?

The Policy Advisory Board, which includes senior executives from leading firms across the housing industry, plays a significant role in supporting the Joint Center's mission of promoting housing research and education at Harvard. It was instrumental in establishing the board, which has been a notable way John Dunlop supported the center.

How does the National Housing Endowment contribute to the housing industry?

The National Housing Endowment has supported the housing industry by awarding over $13 million in scholarships and grants. It funds initiatives like the Home Builder Education Leadership Program (HELP), doctoral research, joint conferences, seminars, curriculum development, and the annual State of the Nation's housing report.

What is the significance of Angela Glover Blackwell's personal story in understanding the impact of housing on life opportunities?

Angela Glover Blackwell's personal story illustrates how housing can create a community of opportunity, despite racial segregation. Her experience growing up in a segregated but integrated community due to the concentration of black residents shows how access to education, healthcare, and a robust social fabric can buffer against the negative effects of racism and provide a foundation for success.

How does Angela Glover Blackwell define 'equity' in the context of her lecture?

Angela Glover Blackwell defines 'equity' as just and fair inclusion into a society, where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. She emphasizes that equity is not just a moral issue but also an economic, democratic, and national imperative.

What is the connection between housing policy and education policy as highlighted by Angela Glover Blackwell?

Angela Glover Blackwell highlights that housing policy is intrinsically linked to education policy. The quality of schooling and access to education are significantly influenced by where one lives. Her personal experience shows that living in a neighborhood with educated adults who chose teaching as a profession led to a good school environment.

What are the implications of the changing demographics in the United States as mentioned by Angela Glover Blackwell?

The changing demographics imply that the United States is becoming a majority non-white nation more rapidly than previously thought. This shift has significant implications for social, economic, and political structures. It underscores the urgency for investing in people of color and ensuring that they have access to opportunities, as they will form the backbone of the future middle class and workforce.

How does Angela Glover Blackwell suggest addressing the issue of inequality and racism?

Angela Glover Blackwell suggests a multi-faceted approach to addressing inequality and racism. This includes making strategic investments in affordable housing that links people to opportunities, reforming tax systems, improving public schools, creating jobs, and ensuring that infrastructure investments produce equity. She also emphasizes the importance of using data to move beyond rhetoric and making informed decisions.

Outlines

00:00

🎉 Introduction and Welcome

Diane Davis, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the GSD, opens the annual John T Dunlop Lecture. She emphasizes the importance of affordable housing and introduces the collaboration with the Joint Center for Housing Studies. Davis highlights the Joint Center's critical role in advancing the department's mission and introduces Chris Herbert, the Managing Director of the Joint Center, as the next speaker.

05:00

🏆 Honoring Professor Dunlop and Welcoming Guests

Chris Herbert acknowledges the significance of the John T. Dunlop Lecture and the legacy of Professor Dunlop, who contributed to academia, policy, and industry. Herbert outlines Dunlop's various roles and his support for the Joint Center. He also welcomes the Policy Advisory Board members and introduces Brian Pastore, Chairman of the National Housing Endowment, who sponsors the lecture.

10:01

🌟 Angela Glover Blackwell's Introduction

Roger Pastore, Chairman of the National Housing Endowment, addresses the audience, celebrating the 16th annual John T. Dunlop Lecture. He discusses the impact of Professor Dunlop and the importance of the lecture series. Pastore also talks about the National Housing Endowment's commitment to housing research and education, its support for the Home Builder Education Leadership Program, and its efforts to address labor shortages in the industry.

15:03

🏘️ Housing as a Community of Opportunity

Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, delivers the keynote address, discussing her personal experience growing up in a segregated community that was a 'community of opportunity.' She reflects on how her community provided access to essential services and opportunities despite racial segregation. Blackwell emphasizes the importance of place in creating opportunities and the role of housing policy in education and health.

20:04

📈 Economic and Social Equity in Housing

Angela Glover Blackwell expands on the concept that 'where you live is a proxy for opportunity.' She discusses the disparities in life expectancy between neighboring ZIP codes and the need for policy changes to address inequality. Blackwell also touches on her work with the new rule of 'affirmatively furthering fair housing' and the urgency of acting on housing inequality.

25:07

🌱 The Importance of Place and the Equity Agenda

The speaker delves into the multifaceted nature of inequality and its impact on society. She discusses the economic benefits of reducing inequality and the need for a comprehensive approach to equity that includes affordable housing, infrastructure investment, education, and job creation. Blackwell stresses the importance of using housing as a means to improve education, health, and wealth-building in communities.

30:10

🔍 Breaking Down Silos for Collective Impact

Angela Glover Blackwell addresses the challenge of breaking down professional silos to address interconnected issues such as housing, health, and education. She highlights the concept of collective impact and the need for a unified approach to creating opportunities for all. Blackwell also discusses the importance of data in driving policy changes and the National Equity Atlas as a tool for understanding demographic changes and economic well-being.

35:12

🤔 Questions and Answers

The session concludes with a Q&A where Angela Glover Blackwell addresses questions from the audience. She discusses the impact of the Inclusive Communities decision, the movement of black and brown communities to suburban areas, and the importance of connecting people to opportunities. Blackwell also emphasizes the need for thoughtful and informed policies that consider the long-term implications of demographic shifts and urban reinvestment.

40:14

📚 Education as a Key Policy Focus

In response to a question about a single policy change that could further many issues, Angela Glover Blackwell emphasizes the importance of education. She argues that a cradle-to-career approach to education, ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach their potential, would transform the nation. Blackwell acknowledges the complexity of the issues but insists that addressing education is paramount.

45:18

🌟 Closing Remarks and Thanks

The lecture ends with closing remarks from the moderator, who thanks Angela Glover Blackwell for her insightful lecture and the audience for their participation. The moderator reflects on the importance of housing in creating opportunities and the thought-provoking discussion provided by Blackwell.

Keywords

💡Urban Planning and Design

Urban Planning and Design refers to the process of conceiving, designing, and shaping the physical and social features of cities and communities. It plays a critical role in the video's theme as it is the central focus of the GSD department and is integral to addressing the challenges of housing and community development. The Chair of this department, Diane Davis, emphasizes its importance in the context of the annual John T Dunlop Lecture.

💡Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing is a key concept in the video, denoting residences that are cost-effective for low- to moderate-income families. It is a major concern for the faculty and students in the Urban Planning and Design department and is highlighted as a significant issue in the lecture series, reflecting the department's commitment to social equity and sustainable urban development.

💡Joint Center for Housing Studies

The Joint Center for Housing Studies is a collaborative entity that works closely with the Urban Planning and Design department. It is mentioned as being instrumental in organizing the event and is critical to the mission of the department. The center provides intellectual and financial support, indicating its role in advancing research and understanding of housing challenges.

💡Housing Policy

Housing Policy is a set of regulations and guidelines that influence the provision, structure, and affordability of housing. In the video, it is discussed in the context of Chris Herbert's research, which focuses on the financial and demographic aspects of homeownership and the policy implications of economic recessions and housing crises. Housing policy is a key factor in shaping equitable and sustainable communities.

💡Economic and Social Equity

Economic and Social Equity is the principle of fairness and justice in economic and social arrangements. Angela Glover Blackwell, the keynote speaker, is the CEO of PolicyLink, an organization dedicated to advancing this principle. Her work emphasizes the importance of equity in creating opportunities for all, particularly in marginalized communities, and is central to the video's message on inclusive community development.

💡Community of Opportunity

A Community of Opportunity refers to a neighborhood or region that provides its residents with access to essential services, good schools, quality healthcare, and economic prospects. Angela Glover Blackwell discusses this concept through her personal story, highlighting how such communities can offer protection and advancement despite challenging conditions like racial segregation.

💡Gentrification

Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class tastes. In the context of the video, it is a concern as it often leads to displacement of lower-income residents. The speaker advocates for strategies to prevent gentrification without displacement, ensuring that current residents benefit from neighborhood improvements.

💡Demographic Change

Demographic Change refers to variations in a population's characteristics, such as age distribution, ethnic composition, and overall population size. The video discusses how these changes, particularly the increasing diversity among younger populations, have significant implications for housing, education, and economic policies, and are crucial for the nation's future growth and stability.

💡Public Transportation

Public Transportation is a system of transport services available for use by the general public. In the video, it is mentioned as a critical component of community infrastructure that should be designed to connect people to jobs and opportunities. The speaker cites New Orleans as an example of a city that has improved its public transit to better serve its residents.

💡Education Policy

Education Policy refers to the guidelines or strategies that govern the operation of educational systems. The video emphasizes the importance of education policy in shaping future generations and the need for a comprehensive approach that extends from early childhood to career development. The speaker argues that a robust education policy is essential for the nation's competitiveness and social mobility.

💡Infrastructure Investment

Infrastructure Investment involves spending on the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. The video discusses the importance of strategic infrastructure investments that promote equity, such as broadband and transit systems that connect marginalized communities to jobs and opportunities, thereby fostering economic growth and social inclusion.

Highlights

Diane Davis, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the GSD, emphasizes the importance of the annual John T Dunlop Lecture for the department and its focus on affordable housing.

The event is organized in collaboration with the Joint Center for Housing Studies, highlighting the critical relationship between the center and the department's mission.

Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Joint Center, is introduced as a key figure in housing policy and urban development research, with a focus on the financial and demographic aspects of homeownership.

The lecture series is sponsored by the National Housing Endowment, which has supported the event since its inception in 1999, reflecting a long-term commitment to housing research and education.

Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, is introduced as the keynote speaker, recognized for her work in advancing economic and social equity through public policy.

Blackwell's personal story of growing up in a segregated community in St. Louis during the 1950s and 60s provides a poignant backdrop to her professional focus on equitable communities.

The importance of community in providing opportunities and protection from racism is underscored by Blackwell's experiences and observations.

A shift in national conversation towards addressing toxic inequality and its effects on social mobility and the middle class is highlighted as a current societal trend.

Blackwell discusses the rapid demographic changes in the U.S., with people of color becoming the majority in the near future, emphasizing the economic imperative to invest in this growing population.

The concept of 'equity' is defined as just and fair inclusion where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential, situating it as a key goal for societal development.

Affordable housing is identified as a critical link to opportunity, with strategies discussed to ensure it is located in communities rich with such opportunities.

Infrastructure investments are examined through the lens of equity, questioning whether current investments are made in a way that connects people to jobs and addresses inequities.

The need for reform in the tax system and improvements in public schools is stressed, with a call to prepare for the future by addressing existing disparities.

Blackwell calls for the use of data and research to move beyond rhetoric and to develop a policy framework aimed at achieving equity.

The National Equity Atlas, a tool developed by PolicyLink and PEER, is mentioned as a resource for understanding demographic changes and economic well-being indicators across the U.S.

The economic benefits of correcting racial income disparities are quantified, with a potential increase of $2.1 trillion in national GDP if the gap were closed.

The concept of 'curb cuts' as a universal design feature is used as a metaphor for how addressing the needs of the most vulnerable can benefit society as a whole.

A call to action for policy changes that consider housing, education, health, and transportation in an interconnected way to achieve equity and improve opportunities for all.

Transcripts

Good evening.

I'm Diane Davis, the Chair of the Department

of Urban Planning and Design here at the GSD.

And I'm honored to welcome you all

to this wonderful event, the annual John T Dunlop Lecture.

This is a very special event for us here at the GSD,

but most particularly for my department,

Urban Planning and Design-- not just because of the importance

of the issue of housing, and in particular affordable housing,

to many of the faculty and students in our department,

but also because tonight's event has been organized and planned

in collaboration with the Joint Center for Housing Studies.

This relationship between the Joint Center and Urban Planning

and Design is absolutely critical to the mission

of our department.

And with the intellectual and financial support, as well as

the sponsorship, of the Joint Center's faculty and research

staff, we've been making great strides collectively,

I think, in advancing our understanding of the challenges

associated with providing housing

in the context of just, equitable, and sustainable

cities.

For precisely that reason, I'm really

thrilled that tonight's keynote speaker is Angela Glover

Blackwell.

But I'm not going to introduce Angela.

My job here is to introduce Chris Herbert, the Managing

Director of the Joint Center and a lecturer in our department.

Chris is a very generous and inspiring colleague

and leader of the center.

He's also a first-rate scholar.

And we are fortunate to have the center in his hands,

relatively newly-- since 2015.

Doctor Chris Herbert has an extensive experience

conducting research related to housing policy

and urban development, both in the US and abroad.

And we've shared some interesting discussions

about Mexico-- a country that I'm

working on-- looking at affordable housing

with some support from the center.

A key focus of Chris' research has

been on the financial and demographic dimensions of home

ownership, and the implications for home ownership

policy of the recession, housing bust, and foreclosure crisis.

Chris is also an editor of several volumes

that focus on housing.

But I'm not going to spend too much time

talking about Chris's great contributions,

because there's somebody else waiting in line that we really

want to hear a little more about.

So without further ado, I'll turn it over to Chris

to introduce the rest of our speakers.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you, Diane.

This is a named lecture, and so it

comes with a certain amount of pomp and circumstance.

So I appreciate the series of introductions

that we're going through.

I do want to thank Diane.

The Joint Center works very closely, as she said,

with the Department of Urban Planning and Design.

And so we were very pleased this past year

when Dean Mostafavi appointed Diane Chair of the Department.

As a member of the department, Diane

had been a valued colleague and a strong supporter

of the center.

And now in her new role, I'm very much looking forward

to the joint pursuit of our missions

to advance education and research on urban issues.

And we're also looking forward to engaging

the university and the broader community in important policy

discussions, such as the event we're here for tonight.

So I'm very pleased that Diane was

the one who got to introduce us and welcome us to the GSD.

On behalf of the Joint Center, it

is my privilege to welcome our distinguished faculty,

students, and the broader community

to the 16th John T. Dunlop Lecture.

Among the benefits of this annual lecture

is that it provides us with an opportunity to recall and pay

tribute to Professor Dunlop for his many important

contributions to the world of academia, policy, and industry.

John was a remarkable man, marked

by tremendous intellect, strategic vision,

and unflagging energy.

He applied his skills in a long, distinguished career

as an academic, a dean, a mediator, a labor secretary,

and advisors to presidents over the span of many decades.

And among his many accomplishments,

Professor Dunlop was also instrumental

in helping to support the Joint Center through the years,

as he recognized the importance of a Harvard Center

that focuses on the centrality of housing--

not just in the lives of families and individuals,

but also to the building of community,

and as a vital engine of our economy.

And among the many ways that John

helped to support the center, perhaps the most notable

was that he was instrumental in establishing our Policy

Advisory Board, which includes senior executives from leading

firms from across the housing industry.

And in that regard, I'd like to spend

a special welcome to our current Policy

Advisory Board members, who are meeting here in Cambridge

today and tomorrow.

It's a pleasure to bring the Policy Advisory Board over here

to the GSD after having spent the afternoon

meeting at the Kennedy School.

And I want to take this opportunity

to publicly acknowledge and thank the Policy Advisory

Board for their support of the Center

and for the mission of promoting housing research

and education here at Harvard.

[APPLAUSE]

The timing of the Dunlop lecture to coincide

with this annual Cambridge meeting of our advisory board

is no accident, as it also pays tribute

to Professor Dunlop's goal of bringing together

the worlds of academia, policy, and industry

to engage in a dialogue, to seek solutions to the nation's most

pressing housing challenges.

So we are pleased to see so many people here tonight

from the University and the broader community.

And Professor Dunlop's lasting impact

on the world outside the walls of academia

is also reflected in the sponsorship of this lecture

by the National Housing Endowment.

The National Housing Endowment has

been sponsoring this lecture since its inception in 1999.

We're very proud and grateful to the National Housing Endowment

for this 16-year partnership.

So in that regard, I have the privilege

of introducing to you now Brian Pastore, who

is the chairman of the National Housing Endowment.

He would like to say a few words on behalf of NHE.

[APPLAUSE]

Good evening, and welcome.

My name is Roger Pastore, Chairman of the National

Housing Endowment.

And I'm honored to be here this evening amongst the housing

professionals and guests as we celebrate the 16th annual John

T. Dunlop Lecture.

I've already made comments earlier in the day,

and had the privilege of meeting Angela Glover Blackwell

just before we came up here.

And I'm looking forward to your remarks

this evening, as we all are.

This series has welcomed a veritable

who's-who of the housing industry.

And once again, we are privileged to partner

with Harvard University and Joint Center

for Housing Studies for this event.

As Chris said, John Dunlop was a friend and mentor

to so many of us in the industry--

a champion for labor-management relations, a leader

in housing and construction related industries.

The Joint Center and the National Housing Endowment

was proud to organize this annual lecture

series to honor John's life and commitment to the industry.

He's greatly missed.

The endowment has always supported opportunities

to educate, train, and conduct research

in the field of residential construction.

Over the course of our history, we've awarded over $13 million

in scholarships and grants to support the best and brightest

in the home-building industry.

A great portion of those awards have

gone to our flagship initiative, the Home Builder Education

Leadership Program, commonly known as HELP.

These multi-year grants provide much-needed financial support

to colleges and universities to create or expand

residential construction management programs,

and to increase the number of qualified housing management

professionals entering this industry.

In addition, we are exploring how the endowment can expand

our initiatives to address the growing problem of labor

shortage that was discussed today in the PAB Round Table.

That's a growing issue, and we're

seeing how we can help that.

In addition to HELP, the endowment

funds doctoral research, joint conferences, seminars,

and curriculum development, the annual State of the Nation's

housing report, and, of course, this lecture.

Before we begin, I want to recognize two individuals.

The first is Isaac Heimbinder, a former trustee of the National

Housing Endowment who has helped the Endowment

fund this lecture for the past five years,

and Bernie Glieberman, who's here this evening, the policy

advisory board member who, since 2011, has helped the National

Housing Endowment sponsor the State of the Nation's housing

report.

We want to thank both of these gentlemen for their generosity

and support.

[APPLAUSE]

So without further ado, and on behalf of my distinguished

fellow Trustees of the National Housing Endowment,

I welcome all of you here this evening

to the 16th annual Housing Endowment John T. Dunlop

lecture.

Thank you.

Chris.

[APPLAUSE]

OK, so now it is my great pleasure

to introduce Angela Glover Blackwell to actually deliver

the 16th annual John T. Dunlop lecture.

Over its history, as Roger mentioned,

the Dunlop lecture has featured a variety of perspectives

on critical housing issues, and has

featured distinguished leaders from the worlds

of home-building, finance, policy, and advocacy.

And collectively, if we look back

over those lectures from the past 15 years,

it really presents a mosaic of the many ways in which housing

is so central to the health of our economy,

to the lives of individuals and families,

and to the strength of our communities.

But if you look at those lectures,

too, in each individual year, I think

you'll see that they highlight issues that are most

salient at that point in time.

Over the past year, we've seen a number of tragic events

and a variety of significant social science research that

has drawn our collective attention to the importance

of where one lives as a critical determinant of one's

opportunities in life, framing, as it does,

your access to jobs and education and ability

to maintain your health and to live

a safe and secure existence.

And ultimately, while those issues

seem to conjure up more concerns about education

and safety and the like, housing is

central to all of these issues.

And it is housing that is the fundamental link between people

and place.

Angela Glover Blackwell has long been a leading voice

in both drawing attention to the importance of place

in creating opportunities in life,

and in lifting up examples of what

works to create sustainable communities that allow everyone

to participate and prosper.

Given her nationally recognized leadership in this area,

we could think of no one more fitting

to deliver this year's Dunlop lecture.

Angela is the Chief Executive Officer

of PolicyLink, an organization she founded

in 1999 with a mission of advancing

economic and social equity.

Under her leadership, PolicyLink has become a leading voice

in the movement to use public policy to improve access

and opportunity for all low-income people

in communities of color, particularly in the areas

of health, housing, transportation, education,

and infrastructure.

Guided by the belief that those closest to the nation's

challenges are central to finding solutions,

PolicyLink relies on the wisdom, voice, and experience

of local residents and organizations.

The organization shares its findings and analysis

through publications, its website, online tools,

convenings, national summits, and briefings

with national and local policymakers.

Prior to founding PolicyLink, Angela

was Senior Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation.

And prior to that, she founded Urban Strategies Council,

which was involved in community building in Oakland,

California.

A lawyer by training, Angela worked

for a decade in the public interest law firm

Public Advocates dedicated to serving the underserved.

She serves on numerous boards, is a frequent commentator

for national media, and is the author of several books

and articles, including Uncommon Ground:

Race and America's Future, and a contributor

to Ending Poverty in America: How

to Restore the American Dream.

Please join me in welcoming Angela Glover Blackwell

to deliver this year's lecture, Policy in Place:

Building Communities of Opportunity.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you very much it is an honor-- a great honor-- to do

this and deliver this lecture.

I appreciate being asked to do it.

And I particularly appreciate the topic and the interest

that obviously exists around thinking of housing and the way

that it impacts our lives.

I have personal experience with a lot of the issues

that I'm going to be talking about.

So I wanted to start off by telling you my personal story,

because it took me a long time to realize

that my personal story had anything to do with my work.

I grew up in a segregated St Louis, Missouri

in the 1950s and the early 60s.

And I know that segregation and racism there

were harsh from talking to my parents,

from reading about St Louis, from doing research

around St Louis to find out about things

that relate to my work.

But I didn't personally experience it,

because I grew up in a complete black community

where the places where we played, and learned,

and prayed, and volunteered were all black.

I rarely came in contact with any people who were not black.

The only time that I did is when my mother would

take me downtown to shop, or perhaps

when we would go to a grocery store.

But for the most part, I lived in a black community.

And while I have lived many places--

not just in this country, but around the world--

I have never lived any place more integrated than the 4900

block of Terry Avenue.

And it was integrated because of segregation.

All the black people lived in the same general community.

We lived right in the center of the block.

My parents were teachers.

To the right, there was a man who had a tiny construction

company.

I remember whenever he would construct anything,

my dad would take us to see it.

And it was often so small.

And I would wonder, why are we looking at this?

And we were looking at it because Mr. Perry's company

built it.

To the other side, there was a man

who was a janitor in a church.

Next, on both sides, there were physicians,

though I never had to go to the doctor's office.

The doctors would just stop by our house for whatever it

was that we needed.

On the other side of one was a minister.

On the other side of the other was another teacher.

Across the street, there were multiple-family homes.

And I remember the Mullens.

The father was not there.

The mother was on welfare.

We called it AFDC back then.

There were people who lived on the other side

of the street who had other jobs that didn't

make quite as much money.

But we all lived in the same neighborhood.

The block behind us was just as diverse.

The block on the other side was a little lower income, but not

completely a poor neighborhood.

It was interesting growing up in that environment,

because everything that we needed was there.

This was a community of opportunity,

despite the fact that it was completely segregated.

When our family moved in, we were the second black family

to move in, the first having moved in the day before.

That was the Perry's.

Within two years, all of the white people

were gone except for one family.

And even though the white people were gone, all of the amenities

stayed.

We still had grocery stores.

We still had drug stores.

The park was still wonderful.

There was a pool in one of the parks.

The neighborhood was safe.

Gradually over time, all of that changed

to by the time my parents moved out of the 4900 block of Terry

to join me and my family in Oakland, California,

when we went home to visit them, we

were appalled at what had happened.

There were no grocery stores.

By the time I was in college, my parents

were driving out to the suburbs to go to the grocery store.

The park was not usable.

No one would go there to walk.

The streets were not safe.

The corner store where we had gone just to buy candy

had long since closed after the man

who ran it had been beat up.

And it was a poor neighborhood by that time,

with all of the things that you can possibly imagine.

But I saw what happened.

And so when I reflect back on my time

in St Louis, what I think about is how important community was.

Community protected the children who

were living there from the sting and burn of racism.

Wasn't enough for those adults, though.

They also wanted us to experience the best

that St Louis had to offer.

I remember us going to the outdoor opera,

and our parents and the adults would sit around the perimeter,

protecting us from anybody who might try to diminish us,

so that we were still having a black experience,

even at the outdoor opera.

When there was something special at the museum,

we had a special docent who took us around to make sure

that we saw it.

It was an extraordinary experience.

It was about place.

It was a community of opportunity.

And so now when I think about housing,

I have no trouble understanding that housing policy is

education policy.

We went to a good school-- because of racism, again.

The reason the school was so good

in that segregated neighborhood is because the only thing

that the educated adults had that they

could choose as professions, for the most part, was to teach.

So I had English teachers and Spanish teachers

and Journalism teachers who, in another time,

would have been senators, and Pulitzer Prize journalists,

and diplomats.

But they all taught me and my brothers and my friends.

We lived in a neighborhood that had a good school.

We lived in a neighborhood where we could walk to school,

and get exercise.

We lived in a neighborhood where there

were doctors, and physicians, and easy access to the health

care that we needed.

We lived in a neighborhood with a rich and robust

social fabric.

And that social fabric served as a buffer

for the black community.

People who could go out, and they

knew who the people were who were

head of the City Council, the wards-- I forget what

they called it in St Louis.

But they had those political connections.

I now go to neighborhoods that are all black and poor.

And I see none of that.

And I can separate out the fact that even

under harsh conditions, living under the racial segregation

of the 1950s, it was possible to have

a community of opportunity.

Where you live in America has become a proxy for opportunity.

And for too many people who are of color and low-income,

there are no opportunities available to them

because of their address and their ZIP code.

We have been doing some work around the new rule

affirmatively furthering fair housing.

And one of my colleagues pointed out--

because she knew us from St Louis

and she's heard me tell my St Louis story-- two ZIP

codes in St Louis-- one in which the life expectancy is

16 years longer than the other.

And the ZIP codes are right next to each other.

But one is white.

And the other is black-- one in which 52% of the population

lives below the poverty level right there in St Louis.

Where you live is a proxy for opportunity.

And we have to do something about that.

There is an urgency associated with it

that requires that we act now, and that we

act in the face of complications and complexity.

Because it's a complex story that I'm

standing here telling you.

This is a complex story, and we can't

let that push us into a single silo and a single strategy.

We can't let it cause us to throw our hands up.

We have to dig in and figure this out.

Because this is an amazing moment.

I've been doing this work for a long time now.

I started working as a professional in the 1970s.

And I see now that there is a ripeness for the change

that we have all wanted for so long,

that I have never seen before.

The conversation that we're having about inequality

is really quite extraordinary.

It never dawned on me, when Occupy Wall Street first

hit the news, that we would still

be talking about inequality five years later.

And that, rather than becoming something that's

turning into commercials-- which is usually

what happens with a trend in this country-- first

it's an important thing, then it gets in the commercial,

and then it's forgotten.

well, that hasn't happened to the conversation

about inequality.

It's gotten broad and it's gotten deep.

We've moved away from just talking

about the 1% and the 99% to really looking at inequality,

and racial justice, and thinking about these issues in a very

deep way.

And we're understanding that it's not just inequality.

It's toxic inequality.

We're experiencing toxic inequality

that's hollowing out the middle class, that's

baking in poverty, that's stalling social mobility.

It's an inequality that we have to be

concerned about nationally-- not just for a few,

but for the many.

And we're understanding that inequality,

which I have come to understand was something

that was accepted as a good and positive thing

by economists for many years, that economists are changing

their minds about that.

The IMF has done a study of 100 nations,

and found that for every 10% decrease in inequality,

there was a 50% lengthening in a growth period.

Manuel Pastor and Chris Benner in Southern California

have done a study of 100 regions in the United States.

And it found exactly the same thing-- reducing inequality

expands the period of growth.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

has been making similar pronouncements.

So we're at a point where it's not

just people who would consider themselves leftist

talking about the problems with inequality.

The International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve

are talking about inequality and how it's bad for growth.

We've got that going on.

That conversation isn't lessening.

And it's getting deeper.

At the same time, the tragedy of Michael Brown in Ferguson,

and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and Eric Gardener

in New York-- and we could go on with the names.

I don't want to take you completely down

into that frame of mind, having to think about the worst

part of the nation.

But coming out of something that has been happening every 28

hours for who knows how long-- that all of a sudden this

is a national conversation-- that every time it happens,

it gets on the news and it stays on the news-- and people

are dis-aggregating the problem, and understanding

what's underneath what we're seeing

in terms of police killing of black men who are unarmed.

The report that came out of the Justice Department

and the report that came out of Ferguson

has been quite extraordinary in laying

bare the racism, the discrimination, the unfairness,

the inequity.

And people are talking about it.

People send me these things.

I get five or six copies of the report in a single day.

People are talking about it.

I rarely go to a dinner any place, made up

of any racial mix, where people are talking about it-- talking

about racism, talking about what it

means to be a poor person of color in America.

And people are feeling ashamed.

And it's a good thing that people are feeling ashamed,

because they should.

And so we have taken these incidents-- once again,

Black Lives Matter, "I can't breathe"--

whatever the phrase might be, it's getting into the culture

in a way that people feel that they should be asking

themselves whether their profession is a corporate one,

whether they're producing something to sell,

whether people are in City Hall, whether it's a civic

organization-- whatever it is people do, they're asking,

what are we doing about this issue that is front and center

in America?

Maybe at last we can deal with the problem

of racism and exclusion, and move forward.

That's the moment that we're in.

It's a moral issue for sure.

We knew that Pope Francis would say something

about inequality in America.

We would have been surprised if he had not,

because it is a moral issue for sure.

But it is also an economic issue.

It is also an issue of democracy.

It is also a national issue.

And we are understanding that while we always

will be talking about providing access to opportunity

and inclusion for people, because it is immoral to leave

them behind, we're starting to realize

that the nation is going to be left behind

if we don't get this right.

Because something else is happening in this moment,

and that is rapidly shifting demographics.

We assume-- it was common knowledge--

that by 2050, the majority of people in the United States

would be of color.

We were quite surprised when we heard

the number was really 2042.

It's been adjusted now.

It's 2044.

But it's coming very fast.

But for many places, it's already here.

Ever since the summer of 2012, the majority

of babies born in this country have been of color.

The majority of children in the public school

system in the United States are of color.

The majority of children in this country under five

are of color.

And by the end of this decade, 2019,

the majority of all children in this nation 18 and under

will be of color.

By 2030, the majority of the young workforce

will be of color.

And by 2044, the majority of people will be of color.

But it's even more stark than that,

because the median age for people who are white is 42.

The median age for people who are

Latino-- the fastest growing group among groups of color--

is 27.

And so we have an older population that is white.

We have a younger population that is of color.

So if you think about schools, if you think about leadership,

if you think about work, if you think about workforce,

we actually are becoming a nation of color

much more rapidly than the census is telling us.

Therefore, if we want to be a nation

to stand on the world stage, proud of our middle class,

we have to invest in people of color.

Because if they don't become the middle class in this country,

there will be no vast and stable middle class.

If we really do want to deal with the issues of climate,

and begin to live in denser populations,

and use public transportation, and reuse our built

environment, we're going to have to learn to live together.

We're going to have to get used to riding next to,

sitting next to, living next to the other.

We've got some work to do to get there.

If we really want to continue to be able to stand on the world

stage in the global economy, we need

to take advantage of the most extraordinary asset you

could have in a global economy.

And that is to be a world city.

What could be better than to be connected to the globe

through language, through culture,

and all of those things?

So what has always been a moral imperative has

become an economic imperative.

And if we are going to be proud of our democracy,

it has to be a democracy that can thrive

in the face of difference.

And so it's also a democratic imperative

that we finally get the equity agenda right.

What do I mean when I say equity?

Just and fair inclusion into a society

in which all can participate, prosper, and reach

their full potential.

And we know how to do it.

We know it requires affordable housing-- affordable housing

that links people to opportunity.

And that can happen in several ways.

People can live in communities that are rich with opportunity

because the housing is affordable there.

And we can make sure that every community is

a community of opportunity, so that the places where people

live connect them to good schools, to good jobs,

to transit that can connect them to wherever it is they

need to get.

Where you live not only determines all of those things,

but it determines how long you live,

and how well you live while you live.

Connect people to places where they're not around asthma

triggers, where they are not suffering

the stress and the trauma of the violence that really eats away

at health and life expectancy.

We can do that, but we also need to make sure

that we're thinking about using our transportation

policy to connect people to opportunity wherever

it might be in the region.

We know that it requires investments in infrastructure.

We need to do that for the people who are

being left behind and left out.

But the nation needs to invest in its infrastructure.

And if it's going to do that, it needs

to do it in a way that produces equity, asking where are we

putting the infrastructure?

Are we putting broadband where we need it?

Are we putting transit where we need it?

Where are we putting the infrastructure?

Are we dealing with the equity agenda

as we're making the infrastructure investments?

Are we connecting people to jobs?

Are we connecting them to apprenticeship programs?

We need to ask, are we creating entrepreneurial opportunities

for minority and women, business people,

for who will most likely hire people

of color and other women?

So we need to think about the jobs

as we're thinking about the entrepreneurial opportunities.

We know what to do.

We know we need to reform our tax code, our tax system.

We know the things we need to do.

We know that we have to improve our public school system.

Because if we're not getting ready for the future,

the future will leave us behind.

So we understand that place matters.

Housing is key to place.

We have many strategies that we have

pursued to try to make sure that we're producing more housing,

that the housing is affordable.

But we have to ask, are we using housing

as a way to improve education?

Are we using it to improve health?

Are we thinking of housing as a job connector?

Are we thinking of housing as a wealth builder for communities

that are being left behind?

The wealth in the white community

is 13% or 14% percent higher than the wealth

in the black community.

These are the kinds of things that, unaddressed,

will come back to bite the nation-- not just

because you're leaving people behind,

but we need for people to be able to participate.

The poverty rate in the black community is almost three times

as high as the poverty rate in the white community.

The same is true in the Latino community.

The unemployment rate in the black community

is more than twice that of the white community.

But the question that we need to stop asking ourselves

is, how are black and Latino people doing as against looking

at white people?

We need to ask how are black, and Latino, and Asian,

and Native American people doing in relationship

to what this nation needs to thrive?

That's the measure.

And if there's a gap there, that's

the gap we need to be concerned about.

Because that gap hurts us all.

When we think about the benefits of equity,

it is absolutely essential that we move beyond rhetoric

and we begin to look at data.

One of the things that we've done at PolicyLink,

in partnership with Manuel Pastor and his shop

at the University of Southern California,

which is called the Partnership for Environmental and Regional

Equity.

So PolicyLink and PEER came together

to maximize our organization's strengths.

Manuel's shop is basically a data and research shop.

But it also does policy and communications.

PolicyLink is basically a policy shop and a communication shop.

And we also do research.

Manuel and I were talking one day just about the time

that President Obama was coming into office.

And we said, we need to have an organization that has all

of the qualities that we have.

Why don't we just merge our organizations

for the purpose of beginning to tell

a narrative to the nation about its future

and what we need to do?

And so we did.

We merged for the purpose of creating the National Equity

Atlas.

And what the National Equity Atlas does

is it looks at 150 regions throughout the United

States, 50 states, and the District of Columbia.

And what it asks is, what are the changing demographics?

And how have they changed over time?

What are the indicators of economic well being,

disaggregated by race?

And what would be the benefit to the nation

if we were to correct the problems, if we were

to close the gap-- if we were to close

the gap between the incomes and the earnings of white people

and those of people of color?

In the part about the shifting demographics,

we go from 1980 2040.

So you can go to any one of those geographies

and see what's going on.

One of the things that we have seen,

in addition to the shifting demographics,

is a racial generation gap.

A racial generation gap-- 80% of those people over 65

in this country are white.

And about 46% of those under 18 are of color.

And that's nationally.

But if you go to different regions,

you'll see that gap is even greater.

And two of the places that have the greatest gap

are Nevada and Arizona.

And if you think about some of the battles that

have been going on in that place,

you see what happens when you have older voters who

do not identify with the youth.

They don't identify with the housing needs.

They don't identify with the education needs.

They have a real problem.

So we talk about that in looking at the demographic change.

We don't just look at race and ethnicity.

We look at age as well.

We look at issues that have to do

with connectivity and production when

we look at the economic issues.

But the bottom line is the GDP would be $2.1 trillion

higher for the nation if we could close that gap in terms

of earnings.

And we give that figure for every one of those regions,

to really underscore that there is something

that is really possible going on now--

that if we address the issues, we actually are addressing

the national issues.

And I can't underscore that enough.

So we need a policy framework that will make a difference.

We have to think about housing, but we

have to think about housing in relationship

to the other things that are going to be crucial to respond

in this moment in time.

And we have to grow good jobs.

And we have to grow good jobs, and we

have to make sure the jobs that already exist-- particularly

for low-income people-- become good jobs.

Which is why we celebrate the work of Ai-jen Poo and the work

she's doing around domestic workers, home-care workers,

making sure that those jobs become good jobs.

But when we spend money, once we know

that we have an equity imperative,

we can't leave it to the poverty program.

We can't leave it to the 501(c)(3) organizations.

We have to say, how do we advance equity with everything

that we're doing?

So when Oakland, California finally

came up with a plan for what to do with the abandoned Oakland

Army Base-- it had been sitting abandoned for 25 years-- one

plan after another.

Finally, they decided they were going

to really invest, and make it a logistics center.

And in making that investment, they

kept asking the equity question.

They made a decision that, a year before they broke ground,

they would put a resource center in the poorest

community in Oakland to begin to train people for the jobs that

were coming in a year.

Don't just wait till the jobs are there

and lament the fact that nobody's job-ready.

If you know what the jobs are going to be,

they started training people a year ahead of time.

They decided that they were going

to set aside 25% of the apprenticeship

programs for people who were Veterans, people who

were long-term unemployed, people

who were formerly incarcerated.

They decided that all the new apprenticeship programs

would go to Oakland residents.

And they had a special program to try

to deal with vendors and contractors

from the communities that are often left behind,

to try to build that-- so using the opportunity to do something

the city needed to do anyway to advance the equity agenda.

We need to make sure that we're thinking

about our infrastructure investments

as being an opportunity to advance equity.

In New Orleans, they have redone the way that they are routing,

and the time frame, and the schedule,

for their public transit system, to make sure it's

connecting people to jobs.

Because New Orleans looked up, and it saw that over 60%--

I think the number is 56-- 56% of all of the black men in New

Orleans aged 16 to 64 are without work-- not unemployed--

without work.

And so mayor Mitch Landrieu actually

developed a plan to build on something

that he had been doing to try to deal

with the violence and the murders.

He developed a plan to look at all the jobs they could

anticipate coming online lots of them with anchor institutions,

and set up a job training, a job linkage, an educational system

to try to make sure that a certain portion of those jobs

go to those men.

So they were thinking about that,

and they realized that they had a transit problem

as well-- so redoing the routing to make sure that the transit

system is working.

In the Twin Cities, they've put in a light rail.

And they've made sure that that light rail system did not just

displace people.

They had an affordable housing strategy along the light rail,

because they could anticipate that this is going

to become valuable property.

Things are going to happen.

Let's secure affordability even before they

started on the system.

They also put in three stops that they had not

planned to put in when they originally

designed the system, so that the entrepreneurs along the way

would get the business along the way of the light rail,

and not have everybody just passing by, looking out

the window, wondering what that is.

People could actually get off.

Those are becoming destinations.

That's the kind of planning we have to do.

We also have to make sure that we

are building the capacities of people

to be ready for the jobs of the future.

By 2018-- that's just a couple of years from now--

47% of all jobs in this country will require

at least an associate's degree.

Only 27% of blacks and Latinos have an associate's degree,

and only 14% of recent Latino immigrants.

We've got to do something about that,

which is what makes the Tennessee

Promise an exciting idea.

You know, the Governor of Tennessee

has said that they now are making

community college free to anybody

who graduates from high school.

And then, finishing the community college,

you can go to the four-year institution.

But you get the four-year institution

for the price of two, because the first two years are free.

We need to do more of that.

And we need to really make sure we're creating a robust system.

But we also have to remove barriers and expand opportunity

because there are too many things that stand in the way.

That's part of what Ferguson and Baltimore have teed up

for this country-- that we now have a deeper

sense of the barriers that have to do with living

in a low-income community of persistent poverty

than we have ever understood.

Never occurred to me that the Justice Department was

in cahoots with racism, in terms of who had to pay the tickets,

and who had to support that system.

That was shocking even to me.

I knew I'd gotten a lot of tickets,

but I thought that was just me.

I didn't know that this was something

that routinely happened.

And it happens in jurisdictions all across the country.

We're understanding how baked in structural racism is.

We have to remove those barriers.

We are understanding-- thank you Michelle Alexander--

the scandal of incarceration and the new Jim Crow.

We knew that there were a lot of people being locked up,

but we didn't understand how vast it was, and didn't

understand how minor so many of the offenses

were that got people in again, and again, and again.

And we're starting to undo that.

In California, we've passed Prop 47

that has reduced many felonies to misdemeanors.

And not only are people no longer getting

those felonies on their records, but if you were in jail

for a felony that is now classified as a misdemeanor,

and you have a good record, you are now

coming out of the prison system in California.

This is a big deal.

It's only the right thing to do.

But we need to make sure that people who do have records

are able to access jobs.

So to ban the box, so you don't have

to check a box on the application for a job,

is just the beginning of how aggressive we're

going to have to be about incorporating people back

into communities.

Think about communities.

Think about communities where, too often, we have

put the affordable housing.

We have put what housing was affordable in communities where

the schools were terrible, where there were no grocery

stores, where there was no job, where there was

no public transit system, but also

where there was not robust community and social fabric.

Think about all those black and brown men

who have been incarcerated.

Think about them.

Now think about the legacy of absence

in the communities from which they were snatched--

the legacy of absence-- no fathers,

no community role models, no partners, nobody.

My father used to play stickball with every kid

in the neighborhood-- nobody to do that.

Think about that legacy of absence.

We've got a lot to make up for.

It takes more than a house.

It takes a community.

It takes people.

It takes people investing in each other.

It takes access to opportunity.

We've got to remove barriers.

And we have to build opportunity.

And the good news is that, as we think

about those who are most vulnerable, as we develop

strategies to make sure that equity includes them,

we are creating benefit for everyone.

And for me, the best example of that

is something that every person in this room has experienced.

That's the curb cuts-- the curb cuts in the street.

Those curb cuts are there because of the advocacy

of people with disabilities.

Happened in Kalamazoo in the 1940s, never

happened again until Ed Roberts and his colleagues in Berkeley

in the 1970s began to actually be aggressive advocates

for getting those curb cuts, so they could actually

realize the rights that people with disabilities

have been able to gain.

And so those curb cuts are now every place,

in every city across this country.

And they are there because of people with disabilities

being advocates for them.

But how many times have you been pushing a baby carriage,

and been so happy you didn't have

to pick up that contraption?

How many times have you, like me, been pulling a suitcase,

and you made that train because you could just keep going?

How many times have workers had their burden eased,

been pulling wagons and pushing carts,

because those curb cuts were there?

How many times have you had your shoulders come down

and your mind relax when that new bike

rider was traversing the neighborhood

sidewalk to sidewalk, and not riding in the streets?

But I bet you didn't know this-- those curb cuts have saved

lives, because the curb cuts oriented people to go

to the corner to cross the street.

They were supposed to go to the corner,

but the curb cuts orient you to exactly where

it is to go-- save lives in that sense.

The curb cuts are an example of when

you solve problems for people who are the most vulnerable,

you solve them for everybody.

You solve them for everybody.

[APPLAUSE]

And that's the moment we have now with equity.

Whether we're taking thinking about education policy

and how to make sure we have a robust public education system

that educates children for 21st century jobs, which

the nation needs to compete, but we know who we have to educate.

We know who we are leaving behind.

Whether we're thinking about transportation policy that

connects people to jobs, and we actually

can tap our full workforce, which

we need to be competitive-- whether we're thinking

about housing-- we're thinking about housing

in communities of opportunity that is affordable.

We're thinking about strategies in places

where we have affordable housing,

to make sure they're communities of opportunity.

And as we finally accept that, even in America,

cities are coming back-- places where

we have been throwing them away for decades--

they are coming back.

As we begin to invest in those cities,

assume that you're going to be successful.

Know that you're part of the wave of a resurgence of cities.

Bake in affordability right from the beginning,

and we won't have to worry about gentrification.

We won't have to worry about people

being displaced because of it.

And as you're thinking about anything

you do, think about jobs, because the best way

to build a mixed-income community

is to increase the incomes of the people who

already live there.

That's the very best way to do it.

Think about jobs in all of those instances,

because we are at a moment where,

to unlock the promise of the nation,

we have to unleash the promise in all of us.

That's where we are now.

Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you for that.

But I have a little time to answer questions

if you have any.

I hope you do.

I get to use this?

Good.

And step here.

If you were suddenly empowered, and you had the ability

to make a major policy change that would further many

of the issues you just discussed so eloquently,

what would that single policy change be?

That's always a tough question, because we need to do so much.

I don't think I can responsibly answer

that question without talking about education.

Because we know-- we all know-- how important education is.

And we know that education should be cradle to career.

We're not talking K-12 anymore.

We're talking cradle to career.

If we really made the investment from cradle to career,

and we made sure that every child born has the opportunity

to reach his or her potential, that we made sure

that their parents can go in and get reeducated,

can get educated for the first time,

we made sure that we actually assumed that children can learn

whatever it is they need to learn,

we would transform the nation.

Now, there are other things we need to do.

But if you make me pick one, I've got to go to education.

Now, if you give me five, I'll get it all in.

Yes.

You need-- may I take you the mike?

Thanks.

Thanks.

You gave us a very, I think, interesting story--

your own personal story, and talked

about the changing demographics of your neighborhood

and the community there.

And one of things I want to ask you about

is the impact of the Inclusive Communities

decision in the Supreme Court over the summer.

Because I think as some of these urban communities have-- we've

seen a lot of reinvestment happening.

And you touched on gentrification.

And I think one of the other trends that we're

going to see-- we've begun to see--

is that communities of color, and communities of low income--

communities are being pushed out into inner-ring suburbs

and suburban areas.

And I think, in some sense, this is really

what the Inclusive Communities decision is

about-- is trying to encourage mixed income and mixed race

communities in suburban areas.

So do you think that that is going to be an important trend

that we're going to see?

And what sort of policy implications

is that going to have, both for continuing urban reinvestment,

if we have not as much funding coming

in to some of the disinvested urban communities?

And then what policy ramifications does it have,

also, for some of the suburban communities, where

we're going to see an increase in affordable housing being

developed?

So one thing to point out is that the trend

of black and brown people moving to suburban communities

has been going on for a long time.

Black and Latinos stayed in cities,

and they kept hanging in there.

And they kept hoping they would get better.

And the schools got so bad, the streets got so dangerous,

people left.

And so it didn't surprise me one little bit

that it was Ferguson and not Saint Louis--

didn't surprise me one little bit.

Because you actually tend to get uprisings

when people are hopeful and doing the right thing.

When we had the uprisings after the Civil Rights legislation

had passed, going to Watts and other places, lots of people

were shocked, because they felt that the country was

making progress.

We were passing civil rights legislation.

People had rights and things they'd never had before.

And that's when Watts opened up.

So it didn't surprise me that it was Ferguson,

because people moved to Ferguson trying

to do the right thing-- trying to get away

from St Louis trying to find places where the schools would

be better, where they would have more jobs, where they would be

respected.

And they didn't find any of that.

They found schools that were now being underinvested in,

police who were harassing them, no jobs available.

And so it's been going on for a long time.

That's why we actually have so many people

now in the suburbs who are poor.

We actually have more people poor in the suburbs

than we have in cities.

So it's been going on for a long time.

The question is not moving to an area that

has been previously white, or moving

to an area that's suburban.

What we need is for people to move to opportunity.

A friend of mine, John Powell, when

he was at the Kirwan Institute, they actually

did a study that showed that people who were black and brown

were moving away from opportunity when

they left cities, not moving to opportunity.

They were moving to declining inner-ring suburbs

while the opportunities were elsewhere.

So I hope that what we will see is

more resources available for people to have information

to move to opportunity when they are making a move,

and not just move to the place where

they happen to know someone, which is likely

the reason you know somebody there is because it's not

an opportunity community.

People move from the place you know

to a place that's already on its way down before you move there.

The other thing we need to really focus on

is making sure that the bottom line is connecting people

to opportunity.

Therefore, if a community is becoming

a community of opportunity, it is the right thing

to do to figure out how to keep people there who were there

during the bad time.

They deserve to be there during the good time.

Just makes no sense to have grocery stores coming in,

schools starting to improve, relationships

with the police getting better, and the very people who

were crying and begging and fighting for that

can no longer live there.

So we have to not be knee-jerk in the way

that we think about this.

We need to be informed.

We need to be thoughtful.

And we need to have goals that we're trying to get to,

and a way to measure whether or not we're doing it.

Yes.

You've talked a lot about the complexity of the issues.

I'm in the School of Public Health.

And so the issues that you talked

about are health and education and housing,

and how complex it is, and how it's very easy to walk away.

But we're here with a lot of housing professionals.

But if we go over to Fenway or Longwood area,

we're with a lot of public health professionals.

If we go somewhere else, we're at the school of education.

Could you talk about how to break silo,

so we don't just talk about where we live,

learn, work, and play matters?

But how do we actually professionally,

when we're being trained in silos,

we really have departments professionally in silos,

so we're not really working interconnectedly--

only when it makes very obvious sense,

like asthma and housing in some places,

but not really to address the fundamental issues that you've

discussed.

I actually feel that what you have pointed out

is true and changing.

I don't know how fast it's changing.

But I know that it's changing.

One of the things that's causing it to change

is the notion of collective impact--

the idea of collective impact, which really forces

you to identify the outcomes that you want,

and then think about all the actors who have to participate

to get to those outcomes.

It's interesting to me that collective impact

is what people in communities have always understood--

that they have always tried to tear themselves apart

to fit into a conversation with a case manager

over in Social Services, and then fit in

with a public health nurse over at the public health

department, and then go to somebody

else who is supposed to be doing that in the school system.

People knew that their issues were intertwined,

interrelated, and you couldn't talk about one

without the other.

Collective impact has now caught up with the insights

that people in community have always had.

And they're trying to figure that out,

so that once you get out of school into the workplace,

the people who will soar are the ones who get it.

Because there's not much use now for people working in cities

or in counties who don't understand

the interrelationships, people who

can talk the language of houses, and talk

the language of public health, and understand

the contribution of public interest lawyers,

and talk to people who are making transportation

decisions.

Those are the ones who rise to the top.

Those are the ones who get the promotions.

Those are the ones who move forward.

And so I think that pressure to be trained for the real world,

for the real skill, for the real things that are valued,

I think that's starting to happen.

I know there are lots of programs

now in professional schools where

people are crossing silos.

But there are many things moving in that direction,

and some fabulous examples.

I always recommend King County in Washington

as a place where they really are on top of this.

But at Alameda County in California and other places,

I'm seeing extraordinary stuff.

Yes.

You mentioned Baltimore.

My family and I live in Baltimore.

We moved to Baltimore, my wife and I did, in large measure--

and at the time or just after the riots of 1968.

What do you say to us?

Between my wife and I, we've probably been on

or chaired a dozen boards.

We have many friends who have contributed

a great deal of time, energy, and money to try and improve

education, social programs, and housing in Baltimore.

And here we are 45 years later, and the same thing

happens that had happened in 1968.

Why shouldn't we just give up?

I hope you don't give up.

This same story could be told every place.

My husband and I have lived in Oakland, California

for 35 years.

And when we first moved there, we got involved.

And we've been involved.

And Oakland is now one of those communities that's

starting to be gentrified.

And so we're fighting that fight now.

But we have never invested as we should to try and solve

these problems.

When we had the uprisings in Baltimore and Detroit,

and in Los Angeles, and all these other places,

the response has never been to peel away the onion,

and understand, at the core, what is wrong

and how do we fix it.

We haven't done that before.

And so there's no reason to give up with the notion of this

can't be fixed.

The question is, why don't we step up to fix it?

Because we know what it takes.

We are not a poor country.

And we need to stop acting like one.

We are not a poor country, and we

need to stop acting like one.

It's going to take a lot of money

to fix the problems in Baltimore.

The schools are terrible.

And it's going to take a lot of money to fix those schools.

The housing is not opportunity housing.

It's not in places where young people can feel safe.

What's happened between the police

departments and young people has been going on for decades.

I know something about the efforts

that Johns Hopkins has made to try to use what

it's doing to engage and train.

But they're not doing nearly enough.

They're not doing nearly enough.

It's going to take more than the hospital to solve that problem.

There's a lot of money getting spent in Baltimore

around various things.

And if you go and you look at who's working on the sites,

and who the contractors are, you realize that we're still

missing opportunities.

And so my response is, it has to be frustrating

when you come back to the table again, and again, and again.

But if you ask yourself have we ever

had a real honest conversation about how we got here?

I taught a class at NYU around housing in the 21st century--

race-class housing in 21st century American cities.

And one of the things the students did

was they looked at the red lining maps.

And then they looked at communities

of concentrated poverty.

And they were exactly the same.

They were exactly the same.

How could that be?

So we haven't really talked about racism.

We haven't peeled back that onion.

We haven't done a true assessment

of what it's going to take.

We haven't allocated the money to do what it's going to take.

And until we do that, we're going to keep fooling around.

I contend, though, that this might be the last chance

that we have to get it right-- that this is the moment.

We're talking about inequality.

We're talking about race.

We're having the demographic change happen.

We have decades of finding out what works-- decades.

We have been working on this with foundation dollars,

with special government programs,

with faith-based programs.

You show me a problem, and I can show you someplace

where they've found what works.

What we need to do is disaggregate it, understand it,

put it in policy, and take it to scale.

Here's one other thing we didn't have all the other times we've

been working on it-- I am amazed at the people who are

leading foundations these days.

They are people of color, but not just people of color.

They are people of color and people

who are white who have been in the business of creating

change.

It's not just the lawyer for a wealthy family.

It is people who really know what works.

And they are working together, and they're

pushing their money out there.

When you look at the kinds of positions

that people are in now to be able to really influence

what happens, we also have a cadre

of leaders who are committed with capacity.

I think we have everything we need.

What we're lacking is the public will and the political will,

but we can build that.

[APPLAUSE]

Please join me in thanking Angela.

[APPLAUSE]

So I think with that, our evening is adjourned.

Thank you very much for coming to tonight's lecture.

As I said, the lectures collectively

provide a mosaic of housing issues.

And Angela has really, I think, provoked a lot of thought

about the way in which housing creates opportunities

in different communities.

Thank you very much for coming.