Over the course of the 20th century, the United States transitioned from a rural to suburban nation—a shift that magnified segregation and left behind a fragile, unjust infrastructure landscape. DW Rowlands and Tracy Hadden Loh analyze urban-suburban population trends over the last 70 years and discuss how the Biden infrastructure bill provides an opportunity to forge new coalitions working toward equitable growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked more interest in public space and innovations that complement school-based learning. In the National Association of Realtors’ Spaces to Places blog, Helen Shwe Hadani and Jennifer S. Vey discuss how Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) can transform everyday places into enriching spaces for children and communities and engage residents in the design and implementation process by combining placemaking and learning innovations.
On May 6, the Center for Universal Education and the Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings hosted an event highlighting how cities are thinking about new opportunities to embed playful learning in the public realm, particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods.
Placemaking Postcards: Bridging the opportunity gaps
Latasha Harris and Vonesha Mitchell’s post, “How a Memphis medical district is connecting residents to living-wage jobs,” describes how the Memphis Medical District Collaborative is addressing racial economic disparities with several place-based initiatives, including a workforce development program that provides targeted training to low-income residents for local health sector jobs.
What we're reading
Strengthening civic muscles. Health and safety are everyone’s concern and key elements of a thriving community. But often the most vulnerable—including communities of color and the unhoused—don’t get to enjoy living in such environments; some of them are even criminalized. To build a place that is safe for all, leaders need to bring together and empowercommunity members and local stakeholders in decisionmaking, put in place better oversight procedures for place management organizations, and take a more inclusive approach to community policing—e.g., creative placemaking.
Toward an inclusive recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the nation’s racial and economic inequality, and cities and regions must be at the frontlines of efforts to rebuild a more inclusive future. To this end, the Urban Institute and PolicyLink recently published helpful guides for local leaders that emphasize community engagement, civic infrastructure, and tracking metrics of inclusion and equity as essential parts of a stronger, more equitable recovery.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here.
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