Madison neighborhood conference highlights making a more inclusive community

 Keynote speaker Mitchell Silver, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, explained that diversity is the future for cities. (Maija Inveiss/Madison Commons)

Madison leaders, neighborhood association representatives, community members and city staff met at the 20th all-day Mayor’s Neighborhood Conference Saturday to discuss possible changes and positive advancements being made in the community.

The conference included both interactive neighborhood conversations and engaging workshops with various panel discussions. Attendees were able to choose from a variety of topics.

Neighborhood conversations, led by community leaders, focused on a variety of topics including empowering the Latino voice, the art of placemaking, engaging millennials and neighborhood parks.

The highlight of the event was the keynote speaker Mitchell Silver, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Silver explained that he comes from a mixed race background which gives him a different perspective as he lives diversity every single day. He said one of the biggest changes in the future will be the lack of a majority race in the U.S. by 2044.

“When people hear our country is becoming more diverse, it’s like ‘oh my god what does this mean.’ It means nothing,” Silver said. “Neighborhoods will become more diverse and the cities who get this right will be the leading cities of the 21st century because this is going to happen all over the country.”

A focus of the conference was the creation of a comprehensive city plan, which Silver also addressed. He led the comprehensive plan update process for Raleigh, North Carolina, and offered recommendations. 

Improving equity in neighborhoods

One workshop focused on emphasizing racial equity to improve decision making. Members of the City of Madison Racial Equity, Social Justice Initiative presented the city’s new racial equity toolkit and how to use them to address neighborhood issues.

Linette Rhodes, one of the presenters, said they want to use the racial equity tools anytime there is a big policy decision. 

“We want to make sure we are using them as early in the process as possible,” Rhodes said.

There was also a panel workshop on Madison’s food economy. The panelists focused on the competitive market for groceries. Ruth Rohlich, the business development specialist for the city, said there are areas in the city with a lot of grocery stores and then other pockets which barely have any.

There was also discussion of an initiative that could help provide access to ethnic grocery stores around Madison.

One of the largest workshops was a Q&A with Mayor Paul Soglin and Silver. Members of the audience asked questions about the rise in the Latino community population, the expanding cultural opportunities, the possible transportation changes and the need for more housing.

Silver said there is going to be a lot of clash between the younger and older generations, but the the older generation needs to use their experience to help those younger generations lead in the future.

“This is your future. This is your children’s future. This is your grandchildren’s future,” Silver said.