Connecting Communities: Using Information to Drive Change

Over 100 leaders in the field of urban information attended the second Urban Markets Initiative Forum, entitled “Connecting Communities: Using Information to Drive Change.” The conference sessions focused on creating a framework for community change, innovative uses of data, and next steps in building a “National Infrastructure for Community Statistics.”

Anthony Williams, co-author of Wikinomics, delivered the opening keynote address for the event. His remarks focused on the unique opportunity to innovatively use technology, and emerging mass collaboration functions, to accelerate community improvement. Numerous forum breakout sessions highlighted the many ways in which information connects and drives change in communities, including a discussion of new technologies connecting federal government to state and local government data, new analytical tools to better understand neighborhood dynamics, and new tools to better understand urban retail markets. Closing keynote speaker Eugene “Gus” Newport urged participants to remember the ultimate end goal of all our activity, creating healthy urban communities.

AGENDA

Thursday, October 18, 2007

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY WORKSHOP : New Data and Next Steps (pdf) 

Moderator
Andrew Reamer, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program

Featured Presenter
Nancy Torrieri, Chief, Communications, Information, and Education Staff, American Community Survey Office, U.S. Bureau of the Census

OPENING KEYNOTE

Welcome (pdf)
Norris Dickard, Director, Urban Markets Initiative

Opening Remarks
Bruce Katz, Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, the Brookings Institution

Introduction
Alyssa Lee, Deputy Director, Urban Markets Initiative

The Power of Collaborative Communities (pdf)

Featured Speaker: Anthony Williams, Co-Author of Wikinomics

Ffriday, October 19, 2007

Opening Remarks (pdf)
Ben Hecht, President & CEO, Living Cities

PLENARY SESSION: A Frame for Community Change
Moderator: Alyssa Stewart Lee, Deputy Director, Urban Markets Initiative

Presenters:

Phyllis Betts, Director, Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action
“Understanding Foreclosure and Strengthening Housing Markets in a Post-Subprime Environment” (pdf)
 
Larisa Ortiz, Program Director CMAS, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
“LISC Commercial Markets Advisory Service” (pdf)

Deanna Zachary, Project Manager, Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project
“From Data to Community Change” (pdf)

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

“A Frame for Community Change: Improving Public Health” (pdf)
 
Moderator: Rebecca Blash, National Infrastructure for Community Statistics, UMI
Deanna Zachary, Project Manager, Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project
Blake Urbach-Buholz, Director of Evaluation & Development, Community Vision of Osceola County, FL
Gaye Morris Smith, Executive Director, Family Connection Partnership

“Workforce Dynamics” (pdf)
 
Moderator: Norris Dickard, Director, Urban Markets Initiative
Chris Allen, President, Chris Allen & Associates
Anthony Dais, U.S. Department of Labor

“Re-‘storing’ Urban Markets”
 
Moderator: Lyneir Richardson, Vice President, Urban Land Development
General Growth Properties
Cynthia Stewart, Director of Government Relations, the International Council of Shopping Centers
John Talmage, President & CEO, the Social Compact, Inc.
Jake Cowan, Business Manager, LISC MetroEdge

PLENARY SESSION: Innovation

Moderator:
Norris Dickard, Director, Urban Markets Initiative

Presenters:
Robert Weissbourd, President, RW Ventures
“Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy” (pdf)
 
Dr. Clark Abrahams, Executive Director, Fairbanking, SAS Americas
“A Singular Indicator for HMDA Data Analysis” (pdf)
  
Erin Patton, President, the Mastermind Group
“7 Ciphers™ Segmentation ‘Cracking the Code on the Urban Market’” (pdf) 
 
Questions and Answers Session
 
BREAKOUT SESSIONS: 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

“Measuring Neighborhood Dynamics” (pdf)
 
Moderator: Nhadine Leung, Organizational and Community Development Consultant
Robert Weissbord, President, RW Ventures
Ricardo Bodini, Senior Associate, RW Ventures

“Fair Lending: Intelligence and Implications” (pdf)
 
Moderator: Alyssa Stewart Lee, Deputy Director, Urban Markets Initiative
Dr. Michael Turner, President, Political Economic Research Council
Dr. Clark Abrahams, Executive Director, Fairbanking, SAS Americas

“Census Hot Report: Real Time Access to Federal Data to Drive Change” (pdf)

Moderator: Rebecca Blash, National Infrastructure for Community Statistics, UMI
Cavan Capps, Data Web/Data Ferrett, U.S. Census Bureau

PLENARY SESSION: Towards a National Infrastructure for Community Statistics (pdf)
 
Moderator:
Rebecca Blash, National Infrastructure for Community Statistics, UMI

Presenters:
Julia Lane, Senior Vice President and Director, Economics, Labor and Population Studies, National Opinion and Research Center, University of Chicago 
 Kathy Pettit, Deputy Director, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, The Urban Institute
 
CLOSING ADDRESS
 
Introduction:
Alyssa Stewart Lee, Deputy Director, Urban Markets Initiative

Featured Speaker:
Eugene “Gus” Newport, Program Consultant, Vanguard Public Foundation