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ULI Nashville: Face-to-Face #4: The Series
Face-to-Face: Making Change to Racism and Real Estate
A Virtual Series for Learning and Listening
Friday, October 23rd
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
How Do You Make the Numbers Work?
Creative Financing Opportunites for Equitable Projects
Featured Speakers:
Bert Mathews, The Mathews Company
Emily Thaden, Grounded Solutions
The final in the Face-to-Face discussion series will explore the developer's perspective, practice, opportunities and challenges of financing and, hence, developing attainably priced residential and commercial equitable projects. Past sessions have considered the history of racism and land use, public policy options to combat gentrification and displacement, and effective strategies for community engagement. Before Face-to-Face newly formed partnership discussions move to developing action step recommendations, this session will dig deeper in to the developer’s role, goals, and challenges and opportunities in conventional and innovative financing tools.
PROGRAM PARTNERS: Face-to-Face continues as a collaborative endeavor between Urban Housing Solutions, the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force, and ULI Nashville including guidance from ULI Nashville Pathways to Inclusion leadership.
Decades of institutionalized actions and policy have resulted in racial discrimination and inequality. We find ourselves at a moment in time for new opportunities to learn, to listen, and to engage. To build a Best Nashville, we first must build trust and understanding, create new communities, and learn about inclusion, equity, and discrimination in real estate and around our city.
Late January, ULI Nashville and its program partners held, "A Fishbowl Conversation: Exploring the Balance Between Economic Development, Gentrification and Displacement." The Fishbowl began important conversations among a diverse group of voices on gentrification, racism, and the history of racism in real estate and its consequences. The goal of the Fishbowl wasn’t to solve the problem. It was the first step in hearing experiences other than your own, in order to build the best action steps. While Covid initially postponed next steps, the recent movement on racial anti-discrimination and equity brings us to a moment that even a health crisis shouldn’t stall.
Our new Face-to-Face Series, virtual monthly hour discussions to learn and listen, will continue opening barriers to communication and understanding which began at the "Fishbowl." The series is designed as a process: Early action steps will be to successfully establish trust and honest conversation among new communities, much like the Fishbowl but in small group discussions of 6-8 participants. However, the goal of the series will be, through these new communities, to ultimately development more overt action items to make change.
MISSION
As ULI pursues its mission of education and networking to share and facilitate the best practices in land use and city building, it must also use its platform to expand discussions on racial and ethnic discrimination in real estate, planning, and design, both historically and in the present day.
- Further expand the audience for conversations on inequalities, inequities and injustices.
- Listen and learn as we seek to build a foundation on greater understanding.
- Work collaboratively to create solutions that improve inclusion and expanded equal opportunities.