Engagement:EquitablePlanningforHousingResilience Dayna Lazarus,AdvisorTechnical Florida Housing Lazarus@FLhousing.orgCoalition
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Topics to Cover I. Why do we need equity? II. Where are we now? • Current Regulation III. Engagement at the core of equity VI. Key Engagement Strategies • Ladder of Engagement • Jemez Principles • Storytelling • Qualitative research and quantitative engagement
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Key Ideas • We are facing increased disasters; we lose affordable housing units after every major disaster. Major loss and damage to LMI housing units after hurricanes: • Hurricane Irma – 75% • Hurricane Michael – 56% • Why equity and engagement in planning for housing resilience? • Historical factors led to modern-day outcomes. • There is inequitable distribution of benefits and burdens (infrastructure, assistance, etc.) • Underserved people lack access to power/decision-making today J # IncomeLowerHhds (≤ $40K) w/ Damage UnitsIncomeLoweras%ofUnitsDamaged 426,951 75.0% Lower Income Units as % of All Damaged Units # HurricaneDamagedUnitsbyIrma 569,108 Hurricane Irma, 2017 Hurricane Michael, 2018
Commits the Federal Government to pursuing a comprehensive systematic approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, and affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity. Defines underserved communities and defines equity.
Regulation
(January 2021)
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for ExecutiveFederalCommunitiesUnderservedThroughtheGovernment,Order13985
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Sec. 2. Definitions. For purposes of this order: (a) The term “equity ” means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.
Regulation Guidance: EO 13985
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(b) The term “underserved communities” refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of “equity.”
“… cities are realizing these neighborhood power structures have been dominated by single-family homeowners who are often predominantly white and above median income. This limits the diversity of opinions voiced to city councils and planning departments and can result in a distribution of resources that favors higher-income single-family neighborhoods or even denial of projects that would benefit lower-income areas.”
• “Ethics
.” • Details
• APA
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Guidance For Planners Code of Ethics: We shall seek social justice… is not a trivial matter for planners. Instead, it is a core value that cannot be ignored. Applying principles of equity is an ethical responsibility strategies including a section on Community Engagement and Empowerment on page 9.
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Engagement at the core of equity • Three major components of a basic equity framework: 1. Acknowledgement/Recognition 2. Measuring the distribution of benefits and burdens 3. Equitable outreach, engagement, and empowerment • Procedural equity: how decisions about public spaces are made, and who has access to decision-making processes and power. • Consider both direct forms of access to public involvement and indirect forms of access.
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Key Engagement Tools and Strategies • Procedural Tools: • Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation • The Jemez Principles • Storytelling • Data collection approaches: • Qualitative research • Quantify engagement • People-specific accessibility considerations • Most important consideration: Meet them where they’re at
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Key Tool 1. Citizen Control: Public money is passed through to mission-based community organizations 2. Delegated Power: Administrators give up some degree of control to citizens, such as citizen review board 3. Partnership: Decisions are negotiated, initiated by the public 4. Placation: Public granted some degree of influence, e.g. hand-picked “worthy” citizens on a board 5. Consultation: Surveys, meetings, public comment periods 6. Informing: One-way flow of information; “outreach” 7. Therapy: Pseudo-participatory programs that attempt to convince the public that they are the problem 8. Manipulation: Given power in a process intentionally designed to mislead and deny them actual power; e.g., rubber stamp advisory committees; public relationsvehicle Degrees of Citizen participationNonTokenismDegreesPowerof-
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION #1 Be #2DiversityInclusiveatthetable.EmphasisonBottom-Up Organizing Continually reach new constituencies and focus on them as a base. #3 People Can Speak for Themselves Always provide space for those most effected to speak on their own experiences. #4 Work Together in Solidarity and IntersectionalMutuality coalition-building. #5 Build Just Relationships Among InterpersonalOurselves justice through relationship-building. #6 Commitment to Self-Transformation Continually self-reflect and commit to personal improvement. Key Tool
Key Tool - Storytelling • Regular people can have difficulty communicating complex life experiences and connecting them to real-life policy • Facts (head) + Emotions (heart) = Action (hand) • Storytelling has a strategy: intro, climax, call to action
Qualitative Research • Anecdotal, differentobservationson-the-groundoftentellamuchstorythanthenumbers • Tactics include: • Open-ended survey questions • Focus groups/small group meetings • Creative participation methods such as text polling • Transcribe recorded town hall meetings, charettes, etc.
Quantify Engagement • Who are you engaging? • Collect demographic information of who is participating in your events and include that as a key point in engagement reports • Allow people to “self-identify” • Mimic Census questions, or add more as appropriate to the research question/purpose of the engagement • Who is making decisions? • Understand the demographics, identities, and life experiences of decision-makers (admin, Board member seats, etc.)
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Other Accessibility Considerations • Language • Culture • Meaning/intention • Simplicity • Accessibility needs of specific groups • Single working parents • People with disabilities • Consider the time they are available • Compensation whenever possible • What mediums are they reachable? • Kids – Instagram, TikTok, in school • Adults – LinkedIn, Facebook, after work, mailers to their homes • Seniors – In-person social-clubs, at their front doors, phone calls
THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Example: FHC Connect • One-stop-shop, “leverages the moment” for input • Supports accessibility and inclusion • Language translation & screen readers • Allows tracking and reporting of data and input • Promotes participationpeer-to-peer • Encourages a hybrid approach to community engagement • Short, quick, and fun participation options
Meet Them Where They’re At
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THE FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION Conclusion • Exclusion and inequitable policy got us here; developing and implementing equitable policy, including equitable engagement strategies can save lives and protect property of the most vulnerable • If you cannot do equitable engagement yourself, hire nonprofits or individuals who can. • Every plan has room for improvement - Institutionalize changes by putting them on paper, in RFPs, contracts; incorporate these tools and strategies into regular plan and policy updates • Deploy existing frameworks: • Learn from grassroots nonprofit, campaign and union organizers • Learn from corporations and marketing strategy