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ULI Report Recognizes Sacramento's Housing Programs and Policies
Equitable neighborhood development policies in Sacramento and Rocklin received acclaim
Dear ULI Members and Sponsors:
Spring has always been a season of renewal, rebirth, new light, and new hope. After experiencing one of the most harrowing seasons in recent history, ULI Sacramento and the region we serve have remained resilient and have emerged this Spring brighter and stronger than ever! I want to personally thank each and every one of our members and especially our sponsors for your commitment to our communities, our region, our economy, and to ULI as we continue to recover from many difficulties revealed in 2020. Despite much adversity the Greater Sacramento remains poised for a tremendous period of growth and evolution.
It is appropriate that during this time of renewal, that ULI has revised its mission to meet the needs of society today. ULI’s new mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. We at ULI Sacramento are excited to help grow the region in a prosperous, innovative, and equitable manner that will help guide a renaissance that ensures the highest quality of life for all of our citizens. It is this goal of transformative impact that will drive our programming, partnerships, and events. We are happy to have you along with us on this journey and look forward to shaping communities in the greater Sacramento Region for the better in partnership.
We have begun that work with completion of many amazing projects over the last year by our ULI members and sponsors. We look forward to honoring these amazing projects and the transformative leaders that bring them to life at this fall’s Vision Honors Awards Event. Look for nomination forms to come out soon. Additionally, I am pleased that we have begun the 2021 event year with some new and well received programming: Our first Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force Event hosted by Randy Sater, Austyn Cromartie and Ellen Martin, our first Speed Networking Event hosted by Mark Ellinghouse and Amy Lerseth, our lunchtime resilience series hosted by our Young Leaders Group, under the leadership of Scott Kiernan, and our great housing programs facilitated by our Housing Committee Chair Robin Baral.
Another major accomplishment was the publishing of, Empowering Community: An Engagement Toolkit for South Sacramento, by the ULI Sacramento Health and Equity Task Force The report provides some context related to the impact of land use policy on health and economic disparities in communities. The report and toolkit focuses on community engagement and site activation strategies related to land use and transportation projects in the Meadowview neighborhood of South Sacramento. The goal of the report is to show how community members, government officials and the development community can work together to improve land use policy and development to improve overall community health and quality of life. This report is the culmination of 18 months of work by ULI volunteers, community residents and local stakeholders, who despite the impact of COVID-19 and the residual economic impact used zoom meetings, online surveys and virtual community workshops to develop engagement strategies and recommendations that ensure equity, inclusion, and an improved end projects across the board. The findings of the report were shared at the ULI National Housing Conference in March and will be presented locally this fall. Our Health & Equity Task Force, in concert with ULI National will be proceeding on a site activation project this fall in South Sacramento, guided by the report findings and community input.
A participating resident shared with us,
“As a south Sacramento native, I am very excited for this toolkit. Growing up and seeing the divide between Meadowview and adjacent neighborhoods, I think this is the first step to achieving equity. Hopefully, this toolkit will be the catalyst for greener, safer spaces and access to resources for the community to consistently use.”
We are excited about this positive change in Meadowview and look forward to establishing the Health and Equity Task Force as a permanent subcommittee to continue work in other underresourced communities in the Greater Sacramento Region.
The most important new occurrence brought by Spring, is the formal announcement of Isabel Domeyko-Taylor as our new chair beginning in July 1. Isabel has already begun working hard to bring new energy and perspective in the chair role that will take ULI to new heights. I am excited to serve under Isabel and am honored to have left ULI in good standing as we begin the transition. None of this would be possible without the amazing ULI volunteers from our executive community, our devoted sponsors and of course our membership.
We look forward to finishing the year strong and seeing you, our ULI members, with an in- person invitation to our Annual Members Meeting on June 29th, where we will celebrate our accomplishments over the last two years, recognize our vision honors nominees, welcome our our incoming Chair, Isabel Domeyko, and celebrate the resilience of the Sacramento Community, Watch for more details soon.
It has been my sincere honor to serve as your Chair these past two years. ULI has always been an amazing organization that makes communities better and it is my hope that I and my leadership team were able to maintain that standard and brand. Even more so it is my sincere hope that we continue to grow as an organization and have done a little to move the needle in our community, creating more equitable and welcoming environments and neighborhoods for all of our communities to live, work, and play. Below are a few quotes that have inspired me throughout this journey, I hope they inspire you as well.
Be safe and stay well.
Jose Bodipo-Memba
Chair, ULI Sacramento (2019-21)
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