Date: October 6, 2011 Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm Location: Boston LISC Third Floor Conference Room (95 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116) Instructor: Ezra Glenn, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) now provides a wealth of census data on demographics, housing, jobs, transportation, and other topics at the level of individual census tracts — perfect for CDCs and neighborhood planning projects. Better yet, unlike the old “long-form” census you grew up with, the ACS will be updated every year: finally, we have the ability to use current census data at the neighborhood scale, and we don’t need to wait 10 years for new numbers!
But there’s a catch: the ACS requires some new ways of thinking about how we use numbers and how we deal with uncertainty and change. This hands-on session drew on real-world examples to help participants learn how to get and use ACS data to make sense of their own communities.
The last Congressional session brought several important gains for affordable housing and community development, including: nearly $20 billion in stimulus funds; new Obama Administration initiatives (Choice Neighborhoods and Sustainable Communities); funding increases for core HUD programs; passage of homelessness legislation (HEARTH Act); reform of the Section 202 and 811 Programs; and financial regulatory reform.
However, a change in Congressional leadership and a push for deficit reduction are likely to bring enormous challenges in the year ahead. Our panel of leading national experts will highlight the key housing and community development issues in 2011 and beyond. Who are the key players in Congress under the new leadership? How will the HUD and the Rural Housing Services budgets fare following the expiration of the Continuing Resolution in March? Will the President or Congress be proposing any new initiatives? What will happen with the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? How will proposals to reform the tax code impact the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and New Markets Tax Credit Programs? What legislation has the possibility of advancing?
Thursday, February 10 3:00-4:30 p.m. Nixon Peabody LLP 100 Summer Street, 25th Floor Downtown Boston (Registration begins at 2:30 p.m)
Moderator: Jeffrey Sacks, Partner, Nixon Peabody and CHAPA board member
Speakers:
Barbara Burnham, Director of Federal Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Linda Couch, Senior Vice President for Policy, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Maureen Friar, President and CEO, National Housing Conference
Peter Lawrence, Senior Policy Director, Enterprise Community Partners
Douglas Rice, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Cost: $10.00 for CHAPA members and $25.00 for non-members. Space is limited and you must register by Monday, February 7. No refunds will be provided to those who register but do not attend the forum.
Registration: You may register online, by phone, fax, or email.
Date: November 19, 2010 Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm Location: Metropolitan Area Planning Council (60 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111) Instructor: Judi Barrett (Director of Planning, Community Opportunities Group, Inc.)
This full day introductory workshop will bring together professional planners and community development practitioners to discover ways that these two fields can share expertise and values to create and sustain healthy, vibrant and prosperous neighborhoods and communities. Participants will be able to develop essential community planning skills through expert instruction, peer learning, case studies, and mock charrettes in order to successfully initiate and maintain local planning efforts within their respective organizations and demographic areas.
Date: June 9 & 10, 2010 Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm (June 9), 9:00am – 12:30 (June 10) Location: Newburyport City Hall, 60 Pleasant St., Newburyport, MA, 01950
This workshop will examine the fundamental economic principles that support a strong and vibrant downtown. Peg Barringer, Finepoint Associates, will provide information and techniques on how to use these principles to strengthen existing businesses and recruit new businesses.
The second day of the workshop speakers will highlight successful implementation of these concepts.
Speakers for June 10:
Ann Lagasse, Leasing Director, Newburyport Development
Sheila Pwomey, Leasing Manager, Newburyport Development
Maria Dickinson, Economic Development Officer, City of Lowell
The Mel King Institute for Community Building celebrated it’s 1st Anniversary on Thursday, June 24 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Over 150 community development practitioners for across the state came to support innovative thought and leadership within the field, discuss the current state of housing policy and affordable housing in Massachusetts, and to celebrate Institute achievements over the past year. Thank you to all who attended for making it a memorable event.
Program Agenda
Keynote Speaker: David Erickson of the San Francisco Federal Reserve and author of, The Housing Policy Revolution, Networks and Neighborhoods
Please join us as we Celebrate our First Anniversary and announce the new Innovation Forum!
Date: April 28, 2010 Time: 11:00am – 4:00pm Location: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (285 Old Westport Rd, North Dartmouth, MA 02747) General Admission: $25.00
World Class. Within Reach
The Center for Civic Engagement at UMass Dartmouth invites you to participate in a UMass systemwide Civic Engagement Summit on April 28th. The primary goal of the summit is to increase understanding of community assets as a means to deepen commitment to civic engagement.
The Community Innovators Lab (CoLab) is a center for research and practice within the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)
CoLab supports the development and use of knowledge from excluded communities to deepen civic engagement, improve community practice, inform policy, mobilize community assets, and generate shared wealth.
They believe that community knowledge can drive powerful innovation and can help make markets an arena for supporting social justice.
CoLab facilitates the interchange of knowledge and resources between MIT and community organizations. We engage students to be practitioners of this approach to community change and sustainability.
Date: Friday, February 26, 2010 Time: 8:30am – 10:30am Location: The Boston Foundation (75 Arlington Street)
On Friday, February 26th, LISC, MACDC and the Non Profit Finance Fund will be releasing the CDC Sector Financial Health Study at an event at The Boston Foundation, from 8:30 to 10:30 am. Bill Pinakiewicz from NFF will briefly present the findings of the study, followed by a panel discussion. Please join.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Marilyn Sanchez (msanchez@lisc.org ) by 2/24. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Kristin Blum (kblum@lisc.org ).
Each semester the Rappaport Institute sponsors an informal series of discussions about the people, institutions, and customs that make Greater Boston what it is. The 7-part series brings in notable figures from a variety of fields. These events are open to all, but are specifically geared towards students in Greater Boston who are just getting to know the region. For more information on the series, call 617-495-5091. All lectures are held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government campus and are free to all.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 1:00pm Wrestling with Growth in Action, Massachusetts:
The Possibilities and Limits of Progressive Planning
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 5:30pm
The Geography of Innovation:
Why do clusters of Entrepreneurs Exist in Some Areas and Not in Others?
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 5:30pm
An Innovations Agenda for Massachusetts
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 12:00pm
Geography, Venture Capital, and Public Policy:
Can Publicly Supported Entrepreneurship Succeed?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 12:00pm
Tackling the Nation’s Toughest Housing Challenges:
Boston Neighborhoods
Monday, April 12, 2010 at 5:30pm
On Her Honor:
Is a New Generation of Women Mayors Changing the State’s Oldest Cities?
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 4:00pm Saving America’s Cities:
Ed Logue and the Struggles to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age
A Roundtable Discussion for bankers and community representatives on the Community Reinvestment Act
Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010 Time: 8:30am Location: Ten Post Office Square, Great Room, 2nd Floor (Boston Private Bank and Trust)
On February 4th, the Economic Development Committee of the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC) will host a roundtable discussion on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), providing bankers and community representatives with an opportunity to share their views on how CRA is working and whether and to what extent proposed regulatory and legislative changes to CRA will help to encourage more small business lending in low- and moderate-income communities.
Introductory remarks will be provided by:
DeAnna Green, Senior Community Affairs Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Esther Schlorholtz, Senior Vice President, Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
Margaret Somer, Director, North Shore Regional Small Business Development Center
Joyce Stanley, Executive Director, Dudley Square Main Streets
To allow for full discussion, attendance at the roundtable discussion will be limited. If you would like to attend, please rsvp to Kathy Tullberg at ktullberg@mcbc.infono later than Monday, February 1, 2010.
The Mel King Institute for Community Building is a collaborative program of MACDC and LISC and other public, private and nonprofit community development partners.
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