6 ways cities can promote diversity, inclusion and equity

For local governments, whose primary job is representing the people who make up their communities, the goal of working towards a more inclusive and diverse society isn’t innovative. It’s table stakes.

In fact, cities and counties have an opportunity to play a leading role in the fight against inequality. Many are already heading in this direction. And they’re doing it in creative ways.

Localities of all sizes around the world are pushing for more inclusive policies, a better understanding of local opportunity gaps, and more diversity in arenas traditionally dominated by one group. To do so, they’re bringing in the latest technology and data tools, engaging with citizens to help steer policy, and revisiting former city priorities with a new equity-minded lens. One city even $ introduced a reparations program$  to start rectifying problems caused by systemic racism.

There’s much to learn from these efforts, and plenty of ideas that can be adapted and implemented in other communities. Here are six principles local governments should embrace and apply to their own fight for greater diversity and equity in their communities:

1. Seek community input

To fix a problem, first you need to fully understand it. In order to do this, some local governments are directly asking members of the community to share their experiences with inequality or discrimination.

In Thunder Bay, ON, the city’s $ Anti-Racism & Respect Advisory Committee$  partnered with Diversity Thunder Bay and Lakewood Social Planning Council to $ introduce an Incident Reporting Program$ . This program asks residents who have experienced or witnessed racism in the community to report it, via an online portal, by phone, or in person. The city then uses this information to target anti-racism educational services, as well as counselling resources.

Similarly, in Sheffield City Council, GB, the $ city formed an independent Race Equality Commission$  to assess issues pertaining to race in the local community and policy, and to recommend ways to address the problems. The non-partisan committee is staffed by a mix of local representatives and volunteers from the public.

According to Councillor Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council, the initiative will seek feedback by those in the community who have experienced racism or inequality:



“Through this Commission we hope to identify key evidence of racial inequality in Sheffield and ways to tackle this. We need to hear the evidence of those affected by racism, and of those groups, organisations and partners that experience and manage racial issues. We cannot improve our understanding if we don’t know where it is happening, how people are affected and how others have brought about fairness. This is a huge opportunity for us to learn and change.”

By getting directly in touch with residents who have experienced or witnessed discrimination, cities and counties can get a better understanding of what response and resources are needed. It can also promote more citizen engagement among members of marginalized groups, and make them feel that their voices and needs are heard by their local government.

2. Empower citizens to respond to discrimination

Some local governments are taking things a step further than asking residents to report issues — they’re actively teaching locals how to respond to hate, racism, and other discriminatory behavior.

Denmark, WA introduced a program that $ trains members of the community$  who have experienced disability or accessibility challenges to become community influencers. The “Train the Trainer” program is the first of its kind in Australia; citizens received instruction on how to administer inclusion and accessibility awareness programs. These individuals then go on to educate local business and community groups.

One of the keys to the initiative’s success is the fact that the trainers can incorporate their own personal experiences into the program, $ says Acting Shire of Denmark CEO David Schober$ :



“Integrating the knowledge and lived experiences of the trainers when developing the training creates meaningful content and will help fulfil our community’s collective vision of inclusivity.”

The London Borough of Waltham Forest, GB launched a similar pilot to $ train residents to become Bystander Intervention Ambassadors$ . Training includes how to intervene against hate crimes and bullying when witnessed in public settings. Like Denmark’s Train the Trainer, the Bystander Intervention Ambassadors are encouraged to train others in their business and social circles.

Empowering the public to evangelize diversity and inclusion can help scale a local government’s inclusivity efforts. It also helps create a more engaged and responsive citizen base.

3. Look at the data

Think something like “inequality” is hard to quantify? Think again. Just as cities have been using open data portals for everything from $ managing traffic to predicting floods$ , they’re also using it to map opportunity gaps across the community.

Los Angeles is a leader in this data-driven effort. The city $ introduced the L.A. Equity Index$ , which pulls more than 100 different data points — things like housing costs, education, internet connectivity, and environmental factors — to analyze and score census tracts around the city.

Each area is given a score, from 1 to 10, with lower scores representing areas with less opportunity and equity. The citywide data is then mapped and shared with the public $ in an interactive map$ .

With more than 4 million residents across more than 100 neighborhoods, the city is widely diverse, but also sees big equity gaps. $ L.A. Controller Ron Galperin says$ :



“Too many neighborhoods face barriers to opportunity that negatively impact the people who live there, many of whom are people of color and immigrant families. The L.A. Equity Index gives policymakers and all Angelenos a more comprehensive understanding of community issues that can drive data-informed decisions to improve neighborhoods and lives. To bridge the divide, Los Angeles needs to do better and invest smarter in the communities that need it most.”

Scoring sections of a city based on a consistent set of factors enables city leaders to more accurately compare the differences in services and resources across the area. Making this data available to the public in an easy-to-visualize way promotes transparency and creates broader understanding of the disparities between different neighborhoods.

4. Bring in partners

To lean on data, like Los Angeles did, you need to have it. In some places, like Shreveport, LA, that might require some help.

In Shreveport, lack of affordable internet access impacted a significant portion of the population. According to a special report by the $ city’s IT department$ :



“The internet is not affordable for many who earn $35,000 or less, which is 42.8 percent of those living in Shreveport.”

Bridging the digital divide and creating more equitable internet access could have major economic and educational impacts, $ the city concluded$ .

But how to determine which areas need better coverage? The Shreveport IT department had an idea: $ the team joined forces with the city’s Public Works department and attached an inexpensive Wi-Fi tracking device to the city’s garbage trucks$ .

As the trucks ran their routes, the IT department was able to collect data and map out what areas needed a Wi-Fi boost. Then, the city began working with local partners to build Wi-Fi towers and expand access in the areas that needed it.

We’ve often highlighted the power of partnerships, whether for $ providing internet access$  or $ improving transportation$ . When it comes to promoting equity and diversity, building these alliances and bringing together different parts of the local community — or even the local government — can make a significant impact.

5. Create opportunities for minority populations

Some local governments are launching programs to actively create greater diversity in fields where minority populations don’t have equal access.

In Philadelphia, PA, the $ city launched the “Most Diverse Tech Hub,”$  which is dedicated to elevating talent from underrepresented groups into technology roles. The city partnered with four organizations to train startup founders from diverse backgrounds, creating an opportunity pipeline from local neighborhoods while bolstering the city’s tech scene.

Across the country in Long Beach, CA, the city is working to $ open up the cannabis industry to people of color and low income communities$ , who have been disproportionately affected by previous drug enforcement practices. Through the $ Cannabis Social Equity Program$  the Long Beach city council is considering new policies, such as shared production spaces and delivery-only business applications, designed to make it easier for those with less access to capital to get involved in cannabis sales.

In $ Kotka, FI, the city is testing a policy that requires employers to use anonymous recruiting$ . A study by Finland’s Institute of Occupational Health found that $ 11 percent of professionals report seeing recruitment discrimination in their own organization$ . Now, when applicants in Kotka apply to a job, information that could be used to discriminate against them — name, gender, nationality, etc. — are not shared. Instead, recruiters only see employment history, education information, and training.

Meanwhile, in Ipswich, QLD, the city saw an opportunity to close a gender gap among truck drivers. Seeking to open the typically male-dominated line of work to women, the $ city launched a driver training program for women to join its waste management truck driving program$ . In order to convene the all-women cohort, the city had to get federal government exemption from an anti-discrimination law.

6. Reassess existing priorities to focus on equity

What if you want to support diversity and inclusion in city policies, but you already have a robust plan in place that doesn’t explicitly prioritize these areas? It may be time to hit the brakes and take a new look.

El Paso, TX, did just that when the pandemic impacted the city’s budget and caused many city improvement projects to pause. Instead of waiting to pick up the same plans, city officials took the opportunity to reset and rethink how projects were prioritized.

Building off $ a spatial equity tool from Urban Institute$ , El Paso $ introduced a Economic Activity and Equity Calculator$ . The tool pulled in historical data, which showed that neighborhoods with a history of redlining saw less investment, resulting in less coverage and services across housing, income, education, health care, and mobility. It also looked at current conditions, such as access to parks, health care centers, and fire services.

Armed with this data, the city then updated its $ Capital Improvement Plan$  to focus on equitable access and services for low- and moderate income families.

Alex Hoffman, AICP, director of the capital planning division of the city's Capital Improvement Department, $ explains the reset$ :



“Because our projects got placed on hold, it allowed us this opportunity to really rethink the way that we were doing these things and develop this policy and have it be put in place.”

Other cities are applying similar equity assessments across internal prioritization. In Austin, TX, $ an Equity Assessment Tool evaluates each city department$  based on past racial inequity and current remediation efforts. The city then sets annual goals for each team to meet. In Boulder, CO, $ a Racial Equity Plan was approved unanimously$ , providing guidelines for employee training, policy assessments, and more to add an equity lens to the city’s work.

It’s never too late, $ says El Paso’s Hoffman$ , for other cities to reframe their priorities, and put more focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity:



“Don't be afraid to start this process ... you can't do anything about the projects that you've done in the past, but you can use that to inform your decisions for the future. [You can] then compare what you were doing before to what you're doing now and be able to monitor those results and show how this has actually had a positive benefit on reprioritizing your projects in this way.”