Leveraging the Power of Place: Strengthening the Field from Networks to Neighborhoods

The William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children’s Zone hosted a virtual summit focused on place-based, cradle-to-career solutions to confront systemic inequities devastating low-income communities, especially communities of color. Practitioners at Leveraging the Power of Place: Strengthening the Field from Networks to Neighborhoods advocated for systems change through neighborhood capacity building, effective school-community partnerships, and public sector engagement to change the odds for a generation of young people.

HCZ Founder and President Geoffrey Canada issued a call to action to end poverty in America through the power of place.

Data shows the power of place and its impact on social and economic mobility. Raj Chetty, the leading authority on using data to understand social and economic mobility, discussed the importance of neighborhoods in helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed.

Discover Raj Chetty’s Presentation 

Three current and former leaders of the Harlem Children’s Zone reflect on their lived experiences implementing place-based work at scale.

With competing priorities and power centers, how can cities ensure they meet the needs of their most disadvantaged constituents? Michael Nutter, former Mayor of Philadelphia, discussed how focusing on neighborhoods can empower communities and constituents.

The Power of Place movement encompasses regional networks and neighborhood organizations with the same goal: address systemic issues to end poverty. The panelists – representing national, urban, and rural perspectives – shared the major challenges, needs, and opportunities for collaboration to end systemic inequities once and for all.

Schools and neighborhood organizations are at times viewed as having competing priorities in supporting children. But in reality, they are aligned, and together, they can powerfully change systems. The panelists discussed how effective school-community partnerships are key to ensuring a holistic approach to address a range of issues – education, housing, economics, safety, health, family, and others – that systematically affect vulnerable children and families.

Discover Paul Reville’s Presentation 

William Julius Wilson, the Institute’s namesake, spoke on his seminal research on poverty and inequality’s impact on place and neighborhoods, and provided insight into how the Power of Place can be leveraged to eradicate poverty in America.

The power of place is gaining momentum as more and more communities attain meaningful outcomes and move the needle on social and economic mobility. Jim Shelton spoke on strategies to build a field to sustain and scale place-based efforts.

Discover Jim Shelton’s Presentation

Communities across America are focused on place to address pervasive social challenges and eliminate inequities. To ensure progress and impact nationwide, it is vital to align our work on a common set of guiding principles. Simone Brody and Hayling Price gave an overview of the principles and the ongoing process of developing them to advance the Power of Place movement.

Read the Place-Based Partnership Principles

Neighborhoods have a long history of facilitating systems change. Lisa Early shared lessons about catalyzing neighborhood impact from the perspective of a city-coordinated effort that builds the capacity of neighborhood organizations in one of the most vulnerable communities in Orlando, Florida.

The success of the Power of Place movement will be measured by our ability to change the systems that perpetuate inequities in our nation. To accomplish this, collaboration with the public sector is key to systems change. Michael McAfee provided an overview of the current policy landscape and strategies to engage policymakers and officials to advance the movement.

In break-out groups, participants shared practical examples of local and regional systems change efforts.

HCZ Chief Executive Officer, Kwame Owusu-Kesse closed the convening by discussing what it will take to move beyond the multiple crises of inequity facing our children, families, communities, and nation.