Middle Neighborhoods Working Group Meeting Schedule Outline (Oct. 2018)

October 2018

“Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods” on Tuesday, November 13th and Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio is an INVITATION ONLY working group meeting. The schedule outline below is designed to strengthen the growing movement of practitioners, policymakers, and researchers dedicated to stabilizing neighborhoods “on the edge” between growth and decline.

The agenda features new research as well as new tactics to mobilize support nationally. Designed to accommodate a robust response to an open call for session proposals, the agenda also prioritizes peer sharing and training opportunities as well as spontaneous self-organized workshops on topics of mutual interest. A major focus of the meeting is on identifying pathways to broaden and deepen the middle neighborhoods movement. Also important is demonstrating how middle neighborhoods stabilization can reinforce inclusive development and racial equity, in Cleveland and nationally.

Click here to view a detailed schedule PDF, which includes full descriptions of plenary and breakout sessions, as well as goals and anticipated outcomes for the meeting.

Day 1: Tuesday, November 13, 2018, 2:00 - 8:30pm

2:00 – 4:30pm        Tour of Cleveland’s middle neighborhoods

5:30 – 5:45pm        Welcome by Joel Ratner, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and The Honorable Frank Jackson, Mayor of the city of Cleveland

5:45 – 7:30pm        Panel Discussion and Q&A: “The Essential Role of Middle Neighborhoods in Comprehensive Development”

7:30 – 8:30pm        Cocktail Reception at Merwin’s Wharf

Day 2: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 8:00am - 5:00pm

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – BY INVITATION ONLY*

8:00 – 8:30am          Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 10:00am        Opening Plenary: Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods

10:05 – 11:00am      Round I: Concurrent Breakout Sessions

11:00 – 11:15am       Break

11:15am – 12:00pm    Presentation on New Research

12:00 – 1:15pm      Lunch Plenary: Mobilizing an Inclusive Movement

1:15 – 1:30pm        Break

1:30 – 2:25pm        Round II: Concurrent Breakout Sessions

2:30 – 3:25pm        Round III: Concurrent Breakout Sessions

3:25 – 3:35pm        Break

3:35 – 5:00pm        Concluding Plenary: Goals and Next Steps

5:00pm                   Adjourn

*all working group participants must be pre-registered

Downloads: 

MN Cleveland Agenda (Download the PDF)

Middle Neighborhoods: Action Agenda for a National Movement

2018. Paul C. Brophy (ed.), Pamela Puchalski (ed.), Stephanie Sung (ed.)
Project Director: Paul C. Brophy; The American Assembly, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; and with support from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc.

"Middle Neighborhoods: Action Agenda for a National Movement" is a report that summarizes discussions from a meeting, held November 15-16, 2017 in Baltimore and co-sponsored by The American Assembly and the Federal Reserve Bank, with support from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Healthy Neighborhoods Inc., a leading community development organization in Baltimore. Experts from varying disciplines and backgrounds, each familiar with the context of middle neighborhoods in cities across the United States, divided themselves into three working groups to advance issues in policy, practice, and research. Among the participants were the Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh; Philadelphia City Councilwoman Cherelle Parker; and two Congressional members, Dan Kildee (D-MI), and Dwight Evans (D-PA).

For a summary of conclusions, including highlights from each working group, and next steps, 

Download: 

"Middle Neighborhoods: Action Agenda for a National Movement" (Download PDF)

On the Edge: America's Middle Neighborhoods

2016. Paul C. Brophy (ed.)

On the Edge: America’s Middle Neighborhoods, edited by Paul C. Brophy, aims to stimulate a national dialogue about middle neighborhoods. Presented through case studies and essays by leading policymakers, community development professionals, and scholars, this volume explores the complex web of neighborhoods transitioning—for better or worse—across the US.

“One way to think about middle neighborhoods is they are on the edge between growth and decline. These are neighborhoods where housing is often affordable and where quality of life—measured by employment rates, crime rates, and public school performance—is sufficiently good that new home buyers are willing to play the odds and choose these neighborhoods over others in hopes they will improve rather than decline.”

-Paul C. Brophy

The declining middle class and growing income segregation and inequality are the backdrop for this publication. The authors of On the Edge provide fresh ideas for action, advocating for new and innovative community, housing, and education policies to support middle neighborhoods and create opportunities for the millions of people who live in them.

Learn more at middleneighborhoods.org.

Available at: 

Amazon

Downloads: 

On the Edge: America's Middle Neighborhoods (Download PDF)