‘Social equity’ hits the books in Oklahoma City
Social equity is more than an academic theory around here, it’s the stuff that drives long-term planning and sustainability efforts, and that makes Oklahoma City a great place for the Environmental Design Research Association’s 49th annual conference.
For all of its progress the past generation, Oklahoma City still hasn’t figured out how to get all boats to come up with the rising socioeconomic tide, which is another good reason to explore social equity here.
The conference, at the Renaissance Hotel downtown Wednesday through Saturday, will draw specialists in architecture, design, planning and other fields who will explore the theme: “Social Equity by Design: Designing Connections through Community.”
Social equity work in a nutshell aims to level playing fields disrupted by poverty, discrimination, disability and other undermining social factors.
“While not guaranteeing equality of outcome, helping mitigate the effects of inequality through targeted social equity efforts can help us strive to ensure equality of opportunity,” according to the ERDA, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Aside from the obvious — Oklahoma City is the state capital, the state’s biggest city, at the continental crossroads of Interstate 40 and I-35 — “this location provides a complex foundation for exploring issues of social equity that can be addressed, in part, through environmental design and research,” the ERDA says on its website, www.edra.org.
It’s a city of turnarounds.
“In the past, it’s been ranked among the least healthy cities in the United States — coming in last in walkability, but first in obesity,” the ERDA notes. “Over the past five years, however, it has been consistently ranked among the top five most livable cities in the country, supported by innovative city planning and economic programs that have brought about a dramatic urban transformation.
“This has led to the creation of newly livable, walkable neighborhoods and a renaissance of its downtown, where young professionals are flocking because of its sense of community and vitality.” Yes. Yes, it has, BUT: “Even so, areas of poverty and underserved populations remain, with some feeling that they have been left behind during this transformation. This dichotomy highlights the complexity of negotiating issues of equity on a daily basis and ensuring that the benefits of redevelopment efforts are shared by all.”
Some presentations will have a definite Oklahoma flavor, such as “Economic Diversification: What it Means for Indian Country,” and “Show Me the Green: Parks and Equitable Urban Development in Tulsa & OKC.”
Conferencegoers from across the nation and 20 other countries will have their choice of field trips to see social equity as it intersects housing at redevelopment projects including Page Woodson; Classen’s North Highland Parked neighborhood; Culbertson’s East Highland neighborhood; and Meadowbrook Acres.
They will also tour Automobile Alley and the Oklahoma City Memorial; Chickasaw and other American Indian business and cultural enterprises; and several homes by Bruce Goff and the American School.
Other conference panels and presentations include accessibility; cross-cultural place-making; resilient community planning; community revitalization; participatory design strategies; and data, simulation and virtual design.
The impact of this conference is deeper than Top 10 lists and tourism reports in the general press. With it, Oklahoma City’s successes, approaching social equity in some ways, facing stubborn challenges to it in others, go into the historical academic record.
Personal thanks to Dave Boeck, a University of Oklahoma architecture professor who helped get the conference here and has kept me in the loop.