EQUITY IN PROJECT PROCESSES
HOW PUBLIC AGENCIES CAN SUPPORT & SUSTAIN EQUITY Government agencies have a dynamic role as public servants to the community. That responsibility comes with an authority to make decisions that can realize a vision, and the burden of navigating consensus, limited resources, and tradeoffs. Often, equity in public projects follows these ebbs and flows which can result in inconsistent or missed equitable outcomes. Each stage of a project comes with common missteps agencies may make as they navigate the inevitable challenges of their role. As the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) embarks on a Master Plan and other milestones for the Stitch, with the support and influence of agencies like the City of Atlanta, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), this section explores strategies to sustain momentum from good intentions to equitable outcomes. Understanding the role and responsibility of agencies is important as consultant teams align their work to the direction provided and the public gauges the intentions of decision makers, including the spoken/unspoken and written/unwritten messages received about the value and importance of equity. The tables below present common process gaps and strategies that can bridge those gaps. EARLY STAGE At the forefront of a program lifecycle, agencies often begin with an optimism about the equitable outcomes that can be achieved through the project. This stage may also come with some challenges like consensus on what equity means, and figuring out how to make the concept of equity actionable. Common Gaps Bridge the Gap The social impact of equity can become
• Commit to an evidence-based approach of factual historical and present disparities, and guide the project to respond to the facts regardless if they support or challenge preconceived notions. • Provide internal staff education on the business case of equity, including funding and public trust needed to advance projects. • Identify the cultural changemakers in your organization that can facilitate equity knowledge share across and within groups. • Set expectations for equity throughout the scope, including technical tasks. • Set expectations that public input should be
politicized by agendas of who deserves what, when, and why, fostering a perception that equity is a pandora’s box which makes the cultural shift in the approach to work more challenging.
The expectation for equity is limited to public engagement, which can foster a status quo retention of power over technical decisions.
used in decision-making, not just documented as proof of external communication.
• Support the public’s planning literacy so discussions of vision are paired with high- level education on cost, technical, and operational considerations. This knowledge
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