By Brian Prater In the community investment sector, we have succeeded in offering innovative capital investments that are focused on one component of our work, such as affordable housing or small business. However, we have struggled to finance more complex solutions that address the broader strategic needs expressed by communities and their residents.  This narrowness […]

In December, Elevated Chicago hosted a symposium on equitable transit-oriented development as part of their public launch around their initiative, which aims to transform the half-mile radius around transit stations into hubs of opportunity and connection across the region’s vast transit system. The day was filled with presentations from community members, a panel discussion, and breakout […]

In honor of National Arts and Humanities Month, a “coast-to-coast collective recognition of the importance of culture in America,” we’re sharing insights gleaned from Liz Ogbu, a designer, urbanist, and social innovator who infuses arts and culture into sustainable design and spatial innovation in challenged urban environments. Ms. Ogbu joined the SPARCC sites at their […]

By Laurie Schoeman Across the nation, floods, hurricanes, droughts, heatwaves, and fires have become more frequent and more severe, increasing risks to people, homes, and infrastructure. Recently, we’ve seen storms and fires ravage communities from Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida to California, killing Americans, upending millions of lives, and costing countless dollars in damage. In […]

Douglass Sims, the Director of Strategy and Finance for the Center for Market Innovation at the Natural Resources Defense Council, recently wrote a blogpost on EcoDistricts about the importance of shifting our thinking around infrastructure projects. The new vision he discusses, called High Road Infrastructure, prioritizes community needs when developing infrastructure projects so as not […]

In a chapter in the newest issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Development Investment Review, Nancy O. Andrews, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Low Income Investment Fund, discusses the importance of integrating justice more explicitly into the community development field. Ms. Andrews reflects on her more than 30 […]

Representatives from SPARCC’s three original funders – the Ford Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – recently wrote a chapter in the newest issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Development Investment Review reflecting on the goals and early development of the initiative.  The chapter’s co-authors summarized their […]

Mariia Zimmerman is the Principal and Founder of MZ Strategies, LLC and consults for SPARCC on federal policy issues. A recent post on her blog focused on regional efforts among SPARCC sites to battle displacement. On August 8, Mariia spoke about these issues and SPARCC at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Sustainability & Multimodal Conference in […]

By Stephanie Gidigbi, SPARCC Policy and Systems Change Director As the United States continues to struggle with policies focused on healthcare, leaders could learn from Copenhagen that investing in people and the places in which they live might be a better strategy to improve health outcomes for everyone. Photo: Steve Johnson. Courtesy of the Robert […]