Building Inclusive and Healthy Neighborhoods, Block by Block: Findings from 11 Neighborhoods Nationwide

LISC + Brookings Metro

A new report from Brookings Metro examines LISC’s community-centered economic inclusion initiative, which centers neighborhoods as the key setting for driving strong regional economies. The lessons in this report make one thing clear: To truly transform the prosperity and well-being of entire cities and regions, it’s past time to abandon top-down or “trickle-down” approaches and embrace the actionable, community-rooted models that have demonstrated impact in cities and neighborhoods nationwide.  Image courtesy of Jana River Medlock Photography

LISC’s Local Advisory Committees (LACs) serve as guides and champions for the organization’s many local offices and rural program. Women leaders from the finance, philanthropy, government and community development worlds bring a special—and especially important—set of skills and insights to this critical, behind-the-scenes part of our work to strengthen communities.

On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday every year—a national day of service—we celebrate not only his legacy but also LISC's AmeriCorps members, who are answering his call to action and dedicating themselves to serve the under-resourced communities we work with, every day of the year. Since the program's inception, LISC AmeriCorps has placed more than 3,400 full- and part-time members in over 102 communities across the country. Meet some of them here, and learn about new and creative ways they are fueling equity and impact through their service.

LISC San Diego executive director Ricardo Flores is featured in a deep dive by the city's public broadcasting station on how, beginning in the early 20th century, single-family zoning worked to racially and economically segregate San Diego—and keep it that way. Flores describes LISC's and other collective efforts to dismantle the status quo in the effort to create diverse, affordable neighborhoods.

With a new grant from Umpqua Bank, LISC is working with local organizations in three states to fuel equitable homeownership opportunities in low-to-moderate income communities, especially for people of color. "This kind of capacity-building support is like oxygen for nonprofits, and we are so grateful to Umpqua for recognizing the value of flexible funding for racial equity in homeownership,” said LISC President Denise Scott.

As we commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at LISC, we are turning the spotlight on San Diego’s Little Saigon, a Vietnamese American cultural and business district that is forging resiliency, visibility and an inclusive future within the city’s ethnically diverse City Heights neighborhood. (Images courtesy AjA Project and Little Saigon Stories)