New Webinars Tackle COVID-19, Code Enforcement, Land Banking, and More

The combination of a new year, new leaders, and new challenges mean residents and local governments are positioned for rapid change in 2021. Register for this Spring’s Cornerstone Webinars to ensure you’re up to date on the latest trends and answers to this year’s historic challenges and opportunities.  

 

Upcoming Webinars 

 

February 2021 

External Partner Webinars 

Pivots Mission-Driven Developers Can Make to Promote Stability During COVID-19  

Tuesday, February 2, 2021 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Register Now (Partner Webinar) 

Panelists will discuss several responses their community development-minded organizations are making in response to the COVID pandemic.  Topics will include an effort in Columbus, OH to redirect homeownership funds to rehab and preservation efforts, Toledo’s work in closing the appraisal gap and eliminating blight, and a discussion of land installment contracts in Cincinnati and how they are a useful mechanism for preserving affordability, especially in the COVID era.
 

Rental Protection Legislation for Local Governments  

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Register Now (Partner Webinar) 

Panelists will discuss a variety of rental legislation laws and ordinances passed in 2020.  These include: Cleveland’s Right to Council legislation, two Dayton, OH laws designed to protect renters, and Bexley, Ohio’s Source of Income Protection ordinance. 

 

Cornerstone Webinars 

Local Government Programming to Support Neighborhood Stability 

Tuesday, February 16, 2021 1:00 – 2:00pm ET | Register Now (Partner Webinar) 

The COVID-19 crisis removed an already thin veil obscuring the line between housing security and insecurity for many Americans. This dynamic is particularly true for many extremely cost-burdened residents of America’s legacy cities. Rising unemployment, low-wage jobs, and limited new employment opportunities mean residents who were formerly “just getting by” are now at-risk of losing their housing. 

  

This panel discussion webinar is part four of a four-part series titled Keep Residents in Their Homes: A GOPC-Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Webinar Series. The series explores strategies for preserving neighborhood stability in small, medium, and large legacy cities in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Panelists will discuss housing strategies that reinforce stability, like thoughtful code enforcement efforts, rental registries, and source of income protection. 

  

Speakers 

• Shannon Meadows – Community Development Director; City of Springfield, Ohio 
• Stacie Young – Director, The Preservation Compact 
• Sharetta T. Smith – Chief of Staff; City of Lima, Ohio 

• Arleesha Wilson – Attorney, Law Offices of Arleesha Wilson (Moderator) 

  

This  webinar was organized and produced in partnership with Greater Ohio Policy Center and Lincoln Institute for Land Policy  For more information on this four-part webinar series, please visit the Greater Ohio Policy Center Events Page. 

 

March 2021 

Land Banks 101: The Fundamentals of Land Banking and Equitable Development 

Thursday, March 25, 2021 12:00 – 1:00pm ET | Register Now 

From the Great Recession to now, the number of land banks has exploded to more than 200 innovative entities across more than 15 states. Today, as America struggles through a pandemic that is harming public health and disrupting neighborhood stability, there is growing interest from elected officials, nonprofit leaders, and neighborhood advocates to better understand policies and tools that could help with an equitable recovery. 

  

This webinar will share the basics about land banks, a proven tool in addressing vacancy, tax delinquency, and abandonment, and how COVID-19 will likely trigger another significant expansion of the national land bank movement. 

  

In this session you’ll learn: 

• The history and unique powers of land banks 
• What a land bank can and can’t do 
• Common features of successful land banks 

• How land banks have evolved: from transactional to transformational 
• Successes, innovative partnerships, and trends in the field 

  

While land banks are not a silver bullet, they can serve as a powerful tool to recover from disruption or disaster, advance equity in your neighborhood, and support community-driven goals. Please join us for this educational session and bring a lunch and some friends. 

  

Speaker:  Tarik Abdelazim – Director of National Technical Assistance, Center for Community Progress 

 

April 2021
 

Topic Coming Soon 

Thursday, April 22, 2021 12:00 – 1:00pm ET 

 More details coming soon! Do you have an idea for a community development webinar? Email our National Leadership and Education team at [email protected]. 

 

May 2021 

Creative Placemaking: New Tools for Empowering Community-Led Revitalization 

Thursday, May 27, 2021 12:00 – 1:00pm ET | Register Now 

Arts, culture, creative organizing, and placemaking have the power to create lasting, radical change to improve quality of life for residents, even in times of crisis. Learn how to leverage your existing community assets and resident inspiration to spur healing, hope, investment and the physical transformation of vacant spaces and structures through Creative Placemaking. 

  

Attend this webinar to learn about: 

• Real-life examples of how neighborhoods are using arts and culture to improve the quality of life for residents 
• New tools for finding inspiration for projects using creative placemaking on problem properties 
• How you can get national exposure for your own placemaking projects and connect with other innovative leaders 
• How to increase community institution support for this critical work 

  

Speaker: Liz Kozub – Assistant Director of National Leadership and Education, Center for Community Progress