Celebrate Black History Month by joining ULI San Francisco’s 5-Day Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Challenge!

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We at ULI San Francisco are many things, including a real estate organization and a community of people who are each unique, and yet collectively do not represent the diversity of our surrounding communities. In celebration of Black History Month, we invite you to join us on a journey of learning, understanding, and exploring how we can start dismantling systemic barriers in our industry and commit to ULI’s mission of shaping the future of the built environment in the most equitable way possible.

During the week of February 22-26, 2021, we will share daily articles, videos, podcasts, music, volunteer opportunities, and self-guided tours that we hope will start the conversation by inspiring, challenging, teaching, and motivating you to reflect and think about how we can each individually and collectively start working in ways that are more inclusive, equitable, and respectful.

The challenge will culminate with a Virtual Happy Hour on Thursday, March 4, 2021, from 4 to 5 pm Pacific Time to share your reflections, thoughts, lessons learned, and ideas on next steps! This happy hour is free and open to everyone but you must register to attend.

Day 1 (February 22, 2021): History
The theme for the first day’s content is history. We’ll be exploring how past policies, movements, and decisions have shaped how our built environment looks and functions today.

• Watch: World Channel How America Invented Race (9 minute watch)
• Listen: NYT 1619 Podcast Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy (43 minute listen)
• Read: Center for American Progress “Systemic Inequality: Displacement, Exclusion, and Segregation” (20 minute read)
• Explore/Act: Explore the Black Panther Party’s History in Oakland

Day 2 (February 23, 2021): Housing
In the second day of the challenge, we’ll be looking at the theme of housing by exploring California’s long-standing and ongoing housing crises from an equity lens. 

• Watch: ULI SF The Color of Law – In Conversation with Richard Rothstein webinar recording (1.5 hour watch)
• Listen: Bending the Arc Episode 5: From Selfies to Social Justice (25 minute listen)
• Read: The Washington Post “America is more diverse than ever – but still segregated” (20 minute read)
• Explore\Act: In the late 60’s and early 70’s, there were high-rise housing projects along Army (now Cesar Chávez), Valencia, and in the Western Addition. Much of that public housing stock was ultimately razed, as proof of the institutionally racist policies of the SFHA. Take a walking tour of College Hill section of Bernal Heights in San Francisco, observe with a critical lens, and reflect for yourself if we, as a society have come far enough in 50+ years to eliminate segregationist and isolationist governmental housing policies. Those policies were manifest in the stark design of Le Corbusier, which became a programmatic platform to prepare POC living in those projects for a life in the US penal system.

Day 3 (February 24, 2021): Urban Planning & Transportation
In day three of the challenge, we’ll be looking at the role of urban planning and transportation planning in building a more equitable and inclusive city. We invite you to consider whose needs are not being included in our current policies and think about how we can make the built environment and transportation networks more accessible and equitable for everyone to use and enjoy.

• Watch: Liz Ogbu TED Talk “What if gentrification was about healing communities instead of displacing them?” (15 minute watch)
• Listen: Talking Headways Podcast Episode 297: Just Sustainabilities with Julian Agyeman (43 minute listen)
• Read: The Kinder Institute “Racism has shaped public transit, and it’s riddled with inequalities” (20 minute read)
• Explore\Act: Take a walking/biking tour on Brush and Castro Street between 12th and 18th Street in Oakland. These streets flank the depressed corridor of Interstate-980. Visually read the negative impacts this freeway had on the neighborhood, and comprehend a future if I-980 were to be removed/decked over.

Day 4 (February 25, 2021): Black Culture
For the fourth day of the challenge, we bring the focus to Black History Month by celebrating and learning about Black culture in the United States.

• Watch: One Night in Miami (1 hour 54 minute watch)
• Listen: Gil Scott-Heron “Who’ll Pay Reparations on My Soul?” (5 minute listen)
• Read: “Cicely Tyson’s Roles Changed Hollywood for Black Women” (10 minute read)
• Explore/Act: Support Black-owned restaurants across the Bay Area

Day 5 (February 26, 2021): What’s Next?
Now that we’ve examined land use and real estate in the Bay Area from the lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, where do we go from here? Learning is a great first step but how do we, as individuals in a system, now take action to create change? Today’s theme focuses on what comes next.

• Watch: Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’ (6 minute watch)
• Listen: KQED SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America podcast “Housing as Reparations” (33 minute listen)
• Read: The Atlantic “The Case for Reparations” (1.5 hour read or listen – an audio version of article is available in this link as well)
• Act: There are numerous ways you can act, but here are some suggestions to help you get started.
  • Continue your learning about social inequities and the built environment. If you don’t know where to start, check out ULI’s Real Estate and Social Equity reading resources.
  • Look into the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative and attend their funder’s briefing on March 3^rd to consider investing in revitalizing the historic Esther’s Orbit Room on Oakland’s 7^th Street.
  • Help ULI SF continue our expansion of UrbanPlan to high schools in under-served areas by connecting us to local teachers who may be interested in the program. Contact [email protected].
  • Donate to ULI Foundation and designate your donation to the ULI San Francisco District Council. 100% of your donation directly supports ULI SF’s equity, diversity, and inclusion work such as our partnership with CIWI and Diversity Membership Fund.

A big thank you to Rosalynn Hughey, Jay Sholl, and Geeti Silwal for organizing!