The "Middle Neighborhoods: Action Agenda for a National Movement" meeting was held in Baltimore at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond between November 15th-16th, 2017, with support from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Healthy Neighborhoods Inc., a Baltimore-based community development organization leading the city’s middle neighborhood stabilization efforts.

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 discussions 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, view the summary report here.

Learn more at middleneighborhoods.org.

Downloads:

Summary report (Download PDF)

Themed “Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods,” this convening, on November 13-14, 2018, will bring together the growing movement of practitioners, policymakers, and researchers dedicated to stabilizing “on the edge” neighborhoods around the country. Participants will share insights and learn about recent research efforts. The meeting will also provide practical information about how to mobilize support to better serve these communities.

Attendance is by invitation only; pre-registration is required for all working group participants.

To learn more and view the agenda, click here.

The meeting builds from several years of outreach activities organized to:

• Help practitioners, policymakers, and advocates active in the fields of city governance, city planning and community development understand that improving neighborhoods is a distinct area of practice, research, and investment.

• Build public awareness and understanding, including bipartisan support, around the important role middle neighborhoods play in stabilizing communities and the urban economy.

• Create long-term initiatives and partnerships to advance the field of middle neighborhood improvement.

“Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods” is the second national middle neighborhoods meeting, held nearly a year after our first national meeting in Baltimore, MD at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where leading authorities and local advocates convened to understand middle neighborhoods. The meeting and a subsequent report, "Middle Neighborhoods Action Agenda," follows the publication of On the Edge: America’s Middle Neighborhoods (2016), an authoritative book combining research, case studies, and essays edited by Paul C. Brophy and published by The American Assembly and The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Partners for the Cleveland working group meeting include The American Assembly, The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, NeighborWorks America, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation with support from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations and Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.

Sponsors for the panel discussion and reception on November 13 include the George Gund Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, and Third Federal Savings & Loans.

If you have questions or would like to attend the working group meeting, contact Stephanie Sung at ss4336@columbia.edu.

To join the middle neighborhoods mailing list, email Mark Leneker at ml2307@columbia.edu.

Click here to view the summary report from the first meeting in Baltimore (Nov. 2017).