CLiME Senior Fellow Advises City of Grand Rapids on Equity

29 March 2017

At the invitation of the Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use, a joint partnership between the Urban Land Institute and the National League of Cities, CLiME Senior Fellow Cristina Garmendia served as a member of a panel of experts to the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Mayor of Grand Rapids, The Honorable Rosalynn Bliss, along with three members of her staff, challenged the panel to help the City of Grand Rapids find ways to align its community and economic development policies, practices, and incentives to achieve a more equitable city. The week culminated in a presentation delivered at City Hall to city leadership and the public.

The national experts spent the week in Grand Rapids to learn more about community plans, learn about local development tools and programs and conduct interviews with key stakeholders.

Kiran Sood Patel in The Rapidian: Experts from Rose Center for Public Leadership make case for equity in development. 

In particular, Cristina Garmendia of Rutgers University said, “In Grand Rapids [leadership], there has been a culture of yes - [saying yes to projects] for fear of losing out or making the wrong decision. I will take Grand Rapids seriously when they have said no to a project based on prioritizing equity.”

Amy Carpenter in The Rapidian: How far will we go to prioritize equity in Grand Rapids? 

Joe LaFurgey for WoodTV8: National Group: Equity is key to attracting millennials to GR