In Pursuit of Equitable Development: Lessons from Washington, Detroit, and Boston

Equitable development, a relatively new concept in planning and community development, aims to help low-income neighborhoods and communities of color become places that provide economic opportunities, affordable living, and cultural expression for all residents. It is built on the principle that current residents will play a central role in shaping the projects, programs, and policies that affect them and their community. 

However lofty its goals, achieving equitable development is complicated and challenging, particularly in this time of social and economic turmoil. In this half-day virtual symposium, leading practitioners and scholars from three cities, Washington, DC, Detroit, and Boston, will explore efforts to bring equitable development to their communities and outline how they are responding to current challenges. The presentations and discussions will help students, scholars, community leaders, public officials, and others identify innovative strategies and successful approaches to advancing social justice in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. 

Co-sponsored by the Joint Center for Housing Studies, the GSD Department of Urban Planning and Design, and the Loeb Fellowship  

Speakers will include: 

Darnell Adams, EDM ’00, Vice President of Program Implementation, Invest Detroit 
Maureen Anway, Associate, Neighborhoods, Invest Detroit 
Diane Clark, Associate Director of Real Estate Development, Nuestra Communidad 
Development Corporation 
Sheldon Clark, Board Member, Douglass Community Land Trust 
Kimberly Driggins, LF ’16, Executive Director, Washington Housing Conservancy; 2015-2016 Loeb Fellow 
Angie M. Gates, Director, District of Columbia, Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment 
Marc Norman, LF ’15, Associate Professor of Practice in Urban and Regional Planning, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan; 2014-2015 Loeb Fellow 
Vaughn Perry, Equitable Development Manager, Building Bridges Across the River 
Jermaine R. Ruffin, Development Director-West Region, Detroit Department of Housing and Revitalization  
Dana Whiteside, Deputy Director for Community Economic Development, Boston Planning and Development Agency   
Darnell Williams, EDM ’96, former Chair, Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee; former Executive Director, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts 
Alex Krieger, MCU ’77, Professor Emeritus in Practice of Urban Design, Interim Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, GSD 
David Luberoff, MPA ’89, Deputy Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies  
Lily Song, RAE ’17, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, GSD 
Alexander von Hoffman, AM ’81, PHD ’86, Senior Research Fellow, Joint Center for Housing Studies; Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, GSD 
Sarah Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture, GSD